Taking Hogwarts by Storm
by Star Storm Raven
Summary: A new girl, Arashi, comes to Hogwarts to protect Harry with her cards the former Sakura cards but now Voldemort is after her, and his son may have a powerful deck of cards to fight her and the Order with. CCSHP OCOC HPGW UPDATED CH. 18!
1. Her Name Is Arashi

This is a HP/CCS xover story. **I'm told my character is a mary sue so if you don't like that kinda thing than you should probably read something else. **

this is a bit of an AU. it takes place in Harry's 6th year, and after Sakura has sealed the cards away. She's lost her powers, and now the cards have to be captured by a new girl, named Arashi (my character :D). Arashi's powers have become recognised by others too, and now Dumbledore has called her in to help with The Order. Okay, that's it!

The story starts at Grimmauld place. Harry is only there as a stop off before going to the Weasley's for the rest of the summer.

Everything you recognise belongs to someone else.

* * *

---Grimmauld place---

Harry had been sitting in the musty couch of the main room for what seemed like hours. The smell was starting to get to him. The adults were all talking about the "help" they had called in from Japan. From what Harry gathered, it seemed like Voldemort was getting even more powerful and had more followers than ever.

"From what intellegence can tell us, the dark lord is searching for these... flower card things," Said Snape,who was unfortunately there as well.

"Sakura Cards, is what they're called." Corrected Remus.

"But he was too late," Snape went on. "someone else had already gathered them."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, Arashi Galewich. Her father comes from the powerful English family of purebloods and her mother was apart of some powerful Japanese clan. She's been going to, er..." He flustered at the pronounciation. "Hoo-shee Mah-hoo Say-joo."

"Hoshi Mahou Seiju, yes." Corrected Remus again.

"Right, anyway, we have invited her to Grimmauld place today. We don't know if she'll come or not, unfortunately. It's all up to her."

Harry sighed and shifted uncomfortably in the couch. He hoped that she would show up soon as he was really, really bored.

* * *

---Outside Grimmauld place---

Arashi double checked the small piece of paper that had been given to her in the strange letter.

"We're here, guys." She said stuffing it back into her jean pocket. Her black leather back pack suddenly unzipped its self. A black stuffed animal-looking thing flew out on tiny wings. It had pointed ears and a scruffy looking tail. It gave the dilapetated house a critical look.

"What a dump," he said, frowning.

The other figure with Arashi - an older looking girl with soft sea green hair, that was swept out of her face by two clips and was cut to her shoulders, where the tips flipped out a bit and green-blue eyes - also gave the house a look. "Not bad," she said. "It's a fixer upper." She glanced at Arashi who looked worried. She gave her a friendly nudge. "It's ok, kid. They're friends I'm sure. And if they ain't, they'll answer to Ri-Ri and me."

"And I." The black stuffed animal corrected. "And it's Fenris." He added.

"Ri-Ri sounds better." The girl said.

"Oh yes? How would you feel if I called you Arty?"

"I wish you would. It sounds nicer than Artemis." The girl said. "But Artemis is only my name sometimes. Rest of the time, you have to call me Alex, just like I call you Ri-Ri." She spoke calmly, with a small playful smile. She had a certain look to her. She was unfazeable.

"Come on you two," Arashi said absently, mostly out of habit. The two, realising their mistress' attentions were elsewhere formed a silent truce and started to pester her instead.

"Are you going to knock or shall we just stand outside all day?" Fenris said, sneering.

"No kidding. Come on kid. We don't have all day."

Arashi didn't really hear them as she stepped forward towards the door. She was stuck in her memories. It was only two years ago when she found the pink and gold Sakura Book and washed all the cards away with the Watery card. And it was only a year ago when she met Artemis/Alex for the Judgement of the Moon Guardian. And it was six months ago when she changed all the cards to her Arashi Cards. And it was only a week ago when her family home was attacked by Death Eaters. She had fended them off with her cards, but wasn't fast enough. Now her father was badly injured and hospitilized at St. Mungo's.

And now this. She had recieved a letter soon after the attack. An invitation to come to a ratty looking house, with no other explination than "we'll tell you more when you arrive." The letter hadn't told her much; just enough to pique her curiousity. And now she was here. She was nervous, she didn't know what she was getting into, she didn't know who sent her the letter, she didn't even know what was beyond the door.

There was only one way to find out. She straightened up, and knocked on the door.

* * *

Grimmauld Place

The Order was startled a bit by the sound of someone at the door. They exchanged glances, before Dumbledore stood up with a nod. He walked over to the door, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins lagged behind, standing in the hallway so they could watch.

Dumbledore swung the door open and said something they couldn't hear. But they could clearly hear what came next...

"Grandpa...?" A soft, trembling voice from the door said.

Dumbledore didn't respond, but simply held his arms open.

"GRANDPA!" A small figure flew into Dumbledore's out stretched arms, where it sobbed gratefully. He turned around, to face the other members of the order.

"I would like to introduce you to my granddaughter, Arashi Galewich." He said as the figure pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. She looked up and smiled weakly.

"Hello." She said, after a hiccough. The young boys in the room could feel their faces redden slightly. The girl in front of them was one of the most beautiful they had ever seen. Her raven black hair was cut short to her chin and styled cutely. Her skin was a healthy peach colour, creamy and smooth looking, without any blemishes. She was petite and slender. She wore a cute peasent-style light blue shirt with short sleeves that ended just after her shoulders and was laced with a silver coloured lace and black denim jeans with a sparkling light blue Asian styled dragon going up her left leg. But what got the most attention were her eyes. They were probably the most blue Harry had ever seen. Like a pair of fine, blue sapphires that jewelers would faint over seeing. Currently, they were shining bright with unshead tears.

"Hi..." The boys chorused, feeling a little silly. Hermione and Ginny tutted at them. Hermione gave Arashi a polite smile and Ginny gave her a friendly wave.

"Hey, what about us?" Said a musical voice from behind Arashi. In stepped a tall girl, with sea green hair and green-blue eyes. She wore a simple black tube top with "PUNK" written on it with sparkling pink and black denim jeans with pink cherry blossoms stitched on the legs and front pockets. She gave Arashi a curious glance.

"Oh, move already. You're blocking the door, you daft woman." Said an impatient voice, which was soon followed by a black stuffed animal flitting into the room with small white wings. It gave the room a look of undisguised distaste. "Oh good, it's even better inside." He said sarcastically. He too noticed Arashi's tears and started a low growl. "What's happening here? What's going on? You're not hurt are you? You didn't walk into the door or anything did you?"

"No, I think it's an emotional break down. The pressure finally made her crack." Thegreen haired girl quipped.

Arashi gave a tired sigh and waved vaguely at her friends. "This is Alex and Fenris. AKA Artemis and, um, Fenris." She said lamely. "Sorry about them." She added.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "It's quite alright, Arashi. Allow me to introduce you to the others." He lead her into the sitting room where the others were waiting. "This is Professors McGonagall and Snape, who will be teaching you Transfiguration and Potions-" He held up a hand as Arashi opened her mouth to speak, "- I will explain that to you later." She shut it again. "This is Mr. Lupin who has been a great help to us in the fight against Voldemort. Mr. Weasley, another great asset and employee at The Ministry. Tonks, an auror and metamorphmagus..." he went on introducing the people in the room to her until he came to- "And this is Harry Potter. I don't think I have to tell you what he has done in the fight against Voldemort."

Arashi shook her head. By now she had composed herself and gave a polite smile and nod in turn to each person Dumbledore had introduced. "Yes," she said to Harry. "I've heard all about what you've done... it's really impressive."

"You are too," blurted Hermione. "I read all about the Card Mistress. You're the last sorceress in the world, you know."

Arashi blushed. "T-thank you," she stuttered. She wasn't used to getting so much attention. She gave a nervous glance to Dumbledore.

"And now, onto the reason as to why you're here." He explained the situation of the Order of The Phoenix to her and the situation with Voldemort, so far. "... and last year we faced him in the Ministry and... there were casualties." The room at large felt a bit heavier at that statement. Arashi grabbed her chest, feeling the great amount of sadness from everyone. Alex shot her a sharp glance and said:

"Mistress, I suggest you conceal your aura if it's picking up feelings again."

Arashi gave nodded. "You're right." She said and did just as Alex suggested.

"You can feel emotions?" Asked Ron.

"Yeah, if I tune my aura into the area then I can feel emotions, but I can only feel very strong emotions when I just keep my aura normal." She gave a shy smile. "I guess this is a very... emotional subject, ne?"

Harry gave a curt nod.

"Anyway," Snape prompted impatiently.

Dumbledore came back to the subject at hand. "Yes, the reason why you're here, Arashi, is because we believe you will be safe at Hogwarts. I will explain the finer details to you later. When we are alone." He added significantly. Arashi nodded.

"Well," said Mrs. Weasley suddenly. "I think it's time I start dinner. I expect I shall need help," she said, adding emphasis to those words to give everyone the hint. Snape and McGonagall excused themselves and left to return to Hogwarts. Everyone left without complaint, with the exception of the twins and Hermione who were very curious about the new girl but were eventually kicked out by Mrs. Weasley. Alex left, chatting happily with Tonks and Fenris flew out and up the stairs.

:_If you need us, just give us a mental hollar, alright_: She heard Alex say.

:_Yes what she said._: She heard Fenris say in a bored voice. :_I'll be upstairs, looking for any dark creatures. I'm not so certain this place is that safe...:_ his thought trailed off and the 'connection' closed.

When the room was cleared, Dumbledore and Arashi sat in silence. Arashi stared at her hands, which held her twisted kerchif and Dumbledore seemed to be preoccupied with the ceiling. Finally he said: "How is your father?"

Arashi flinched slightly. "He's stable." She said quietly.

"I'm glad."

There was another period of silence as both worked out their thoughts...

"We've missed you, grandpa..." she said in a soft, trembling voice.

"I missed you as well, but..." he trailed off.

"But you and papa are too stubborn to end this stupid fight, right?" She said, her voice harsh and her knuckles whitening. She looked down suddenly, trembling slightly. "I expect this from papa but you..." she said angrily, "you're 150, you should know better."

Dumbledore sighed. "Alas, even the oldest and wisest can act like fools where family is concerned." He got up and sat next to her, embracing her. "I know this has been a trying time." He whispered, stroking her hair. "But it shall pass," Arashi gave a muffled noise of disbelief. "It is always darkest before dawn."

After a few more minutes, she pulled away and composed herself. "Right," she said, feeling emmensly better. Her grandpa had that effect on people. "So, why am I here?"

"You are here because we need the assistance of the last sorceress; The Card Mistress. Voldemort has gained much power, much more than I originally forsaw, and now he plans to strike Hogwarts with it. Harry needs protection, and you are the perfect person to give it. We have another concern, unfortunately. We believe Voldemort, after failing to get the Sakura Cards, has gone after another, less well known deck. The Dark Cards, I believe they're called. I'm afraid the details are sketchy at best, we don't even know how powerful they are. I doubt they are more powerful than the," he smiled fondly, "Arashi Cards because if they were, he wouldn't have gone after them first."

Arashi blushed. "I prefer to call them Silver Star Cards. Arashi Cards just sounds strange." She sighed. "I understand now. You want me to look after Harry? I can do that, but if I'm going to attend Hogwarts then Alex and Fenris will have to come with me."

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course, we have already made preperations. Now," he stood up. "You will be staying with the Weasley's for the rest of the summer. I will send you all you need when you recieve your Hogwarts letter in about, oh, two weeks or so. And now I must be off." And he left without another word.

Arashi sighed. 'Typical,' she thought. 'Leave before anyone can say anything. Some things never change.' She stood around for a minute, trying to decide what to do. 'I could go and see Fenris, but he might be hunting. That's always really funny to watch, but he finds my giggling annoying.' but then it was hard not to snicker at the sight of a cute little stuffed animal trying to be scary. 'I guess I'll go in the kitchen and see what everyone's doing.'

* * *

---Kitchen---

It was very busy with hustle and bustle. Mrs Weasley was trying to cook and Tonks and Alex were trying to help. It was an ugly scene. Tonks was clumsy, that was apparent almost immediately and Alex was... over exited. Though she was normally quite graceful, she was tripping and bumping into things. Arashi thought it was odd but then Alex was odd so she left it alone. Lupin was graceous enough to help as well.

The teens were seated at the table, just chatting until someone shouts at them to do something. Arashi walked over and smiled. "Hi!"

"Konnichiwa." Said Hermione.

Arashi smiled and bowed. "Konnichiwa." She said.

"So," Hermione said eagerly as Arashi sat down. "You lived in Japan?"

Arashi nodded. "Yep. For four years."

She and the others continued chatting about Japan, and how Hermione wished she could go to visit there. They chatted all through dinner as well, and Arashi was getting over her jitters and returning to her old happy self.

* * *

---Later that night, after dinner. Up stairs, in the girl's bedroom---

"We'll be going to my house in the morning," said Ginny as she stretched out and laid back on the bed.

"I'm looking forward to it," Arashi said. She pulled the covers up. "Is it nice?"

"The best." Said Hermione after a yawn. "Anyway, good night, guys."

They said goodnight and turned off the lights. Arashi felt her energy drain out of her and her eyelids grow heavy. Soon she was asleep.

* * *

---Arashi's dream---

_Arashi stood in her PJs in a strange, dark place. She looked around curiously. Suddenly, she heard a voice:_

_"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly..." Followed by a soft, taunting laugh._

_Arashi frowned at the evil sounding voice. "Who's there!" She called out. "I don't really think that was funny!" She added crossly._

_"What you think is irrelevant." The voice was given form in front of her. A hooded figure in black. "Very soon, you will die..."_

_Arashi narrowed her eyes. "You didn't answer my question." She said, sounding braver than she felt. "Who are you?"_

_"I am..." The figure looked up suddenly and Arashi was struck with a mental blow, causing her to flinch. She stumbled back and clamped her hands on her ears. "...your executioner."_

_She gave a long moan of pain and fell to her knees. "...get... get... out..." It felt like someone was knawing at her mind, unravelling her thoughts. "GET OUT!" She screamed. Her aura erupted, and this time it was the figure who stumbled back, doubling over in pain. The pain in Arashi's head lessened and she stood up, a blue aura surrounding her. She held her hand out and concentraited._

_"Oh key of stars with your power burning bright, reveal the wand! Release the light! RELEASE!" A silver magic circle appeared under her as she finished chanting. It looked like the old Sakura symbol, only with a silver crescent moon cradling a white-gold star. The wand appeared next._

_The shaft was a sky blue with silver rings at the ends. The staff itself was similar to Sakura's wand, only blue and silver with navy blue stones instead of dark red. The very end, however, was different. Instead of a star inside a circle, there was a silvery-blue crescent moon and cradled in it was a smaller white-gold star. At the hilt were two small wings, similar to the two on Fenris' back._

_She pulled out a card from seemingly nowhere. On the back was the same symbol as the one that appeared on the floor. What was once pink and gold was now cereulean blue and silver. She threw the card in the air._

_"DREAM!"_

_The dream card appeared and blew the strange hooded figure out of her mistresses' head and out of her dreams._

* * *

---Bedroom---

Arashi woke up with a start, sweating. The others were still sleeping peacefully.

'Who was that guy?' She wondered.

* * *

**Raven: **yay! First chappie is finished! does a dance

**Fenris:** Hurrah.

**Raven:** You should be more enthusiastic. I worked hard.

**Fenris:** I care... nah, not really.

**Alex: **Well, I care. Have a cookie.

**Raven:** Yes! Please review!


	2. Son Of A Devil

Raven: Okay! Part 2 of my oh so excellent story!  
  
Fenris: Excellent? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!  
  
Raven: Stuff it, you! *Chases Fenris around*  
  
Alex: *Sweatdrops* Um, seeing as they're busy I'll just give the disclaimer. Everything belongs to JK Rowling or to CLAMP.  
  
****  
  
~A few weeks later~  
*Outside Diagon Alley*  
  
Arashi stretched out and blinked in the morning light. She was dressed in a soft yellow t-shirt with a bumble bee stitched in the corner, and a denim skirt with patches with trainers on her feet. A silver chain sparkled on her neck, where a small blue and silver key hung. She carried her beaten up backpack, which had various colorful patches stitched on. She and Harry stood out in an alley behind the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"I'm glad we're not travelling by floo powder." Said Harry as he poked at the brick wall with his wand.  
  
"I've never liked floo powder." Agreed Arashi. "Still," she continued. "I thought you would travel with the Weasley's. You know, so you could be with them." She glanced at him. "Be with Ginny for example?"  
  
Harry blushed a bit and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about... here we go." The wall started to open up, forming an arch. "There. Diagon Alley."  
  
Arashi stepped through and was pleased to see it wasn't as crowded as Tokyo. "Where did Mrs. Weasley say to meet her?" She asked.  
  
"Errr... Gringott's, I think." He pointed to a tall, looming building at the end of the street.  
  
"Oooooh, okay." She said.  
  
When they did arrive at Gringott's they greeted the Weasley family and Harry ignored the nudge Arashi gave him in Ginny's direction.  
  
"Right," said Mrs. Weasley. "Well, dear, I figured you kids could go off on your own but be careful."  
  
They agreed and went inside Gringott's.  
  
"Do you still need wizard money?" Asked Ron.  
  
Arashi furrowed her brow. "Well, I think so." Just then her backpack unzipped itself and out flew Fenris looking as irritated as ever.  
  
"Clow Reed has an account here, I believe." He said. "So I suggest we inspect that, yes?" He flitted up to one of the high desks where a Goblin sat. "You there," he said. "This," he gestured to Arashi, who had followed him to the desk. "is the Card Mistress and the last Sorcerer. She needs to get into Clow Reed's vault immediately."  
  
The goblin carefully put down his quil and peered over his glasses with a sneer. "I shall need proof, my good..." the goblin examined Fenris closely. "...thing." he finished.  
  
"What kind of proof?" Asked Arashi.  
  
"A key would be a good start."  
  
With a small 'oh' Arashi pulled off her necklace and dangled it infront of the goblin's nose. "You mean this key?"  
  
The goblin's eyes widened with surprised... and then narrowed with suspision. "Impossible." he growled. "A child cannot hold such great power. She's too..." he sneered at her once more. "puny."  
  
Fenris growled softly. Instead of looking insulted, Arashi gave a worried look to Fenris and covered her ears and gestured for the others to do the same.  
  
"And what, exactly," began Fenris in silken tones. "is wrong with BEING PUNY!!!??!" His voice echoed off of the walls causing the goblins to cover their ears. Dusted fell from the ceiling. Arashi took her hands off of her ears and tried to soothe Fenris' ruffled feathers.  
  
"Uh oh, don't look now..." Said Ron, eyeing the mass of angry goblins forming.  
  
"I've never seen them so livid." Said Hermione with a tremble of fear in her voice.  
  
"Oh yes? Oh yes?" Fenris, too, was trembling but for different reasons. His fur stood on end. "They want to fight, do they? I'LL SHOW THEM PUNY!"  
  
"He didn't mean it to you, Fenris. So please, calm down!" Arashi pleaded. They ignored her.  
  
"Get out!" Said the goblin they had been talking to earlier. "Out! Never return!" The other goblins cheered him on.  
  
"MAKE ME!" Now Fenris was glowing red, sparks flying from his fur.  
  
"ENOUGH!!!" The noise died down immediately. Arashi was in the center of the crowd, her face flushed. "You want proof?" She spat to the goblins. "Fine." The magic circle appeared under her feet as she chanted: "Oh key that holds the power of the stars, reveal thy true form to me. Under the contract, I, Arashi, command you! RELEASE!!" The blue staff appeared, just as it had the night she was attacked in her dreams. She pulled out a card and threw it in the air.  
  
"GLOW!!"  
  
Suddenly the dim lights of the bank were replaced with soft glowing orbs falling from the roof like snow flakes. Everyone stood in awe at the beauty. The Glow Card, in it's true form, sat on her Mistress' shoulder.  
  
Arashi gave them a serene smile. "Now are you convinced?"  
  
****  
  
As they sped down the deep caverns under the bank, Arashi appreciated the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair. The others, however, looked nausous. Well, all except Fenris who was sulking. Arashi reminded herself to scold him later, in private.  
  
'This is taking forever.' She thought as she watched the various vaults zip by. 'I wonder how long ago Clow Reed got this account, anyway? We must be in the double digits by now.'  
  
"Have we gotten any closer yet?!" She yelled over the wind.  
  
"Almost, Mistress!" Said the goblin.  
  
They twisted and turned through the passages at top speed. Once or twice Arashi sworn she could've seen a dragon speeding off into the distance. She admired the security in such a place. Suddenly, the cart came to a full stop.  
  
"We're here, Mistress."  
  
Arashi stepped out of the cart and the others followed gratefully. They stared up in awe at Clow Reed's vault. Unlike the others, this did not have a vault number, in fact, it didn't seem to have many markings at all. The door was silver, and, after the goblin trailed his finger down the length of it, it opened easily. Arashi stepped forward into the vault and as the others were about to follow, the goblin held out a stern hand.  
  
"No one but the Mistress of the Cards is to enter." He said sternly.  
  
Arashi was surprised to see that beyond the door was not the vault she was expecting. Instead, it was just a hallway. At the end of the hallway, however, she could see something shimmering. She summoned the Glow Card once again for light, and walked forward. At the end of the hall, taking up all the room from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, was an obsidian block. It reflected the lights of glow and Arashi could see veins of various colours running along the surface. She put her hands on the smooth surface and felt that it was strangely warm.  
  
Fenris, who had flown up behind her, put a little paw on the surface as well. "I've never seen anything like this," he remarked.  
  
Arashi looked at him with a frown. "So, what do I do now? I guess I have to get rid of this thing, right?"  
  
Fenris gave her a cool look. "You are the Card Mistress," he said. "If you cannot even figure out how to open a door on your own, then you are not worthy to hold the cards."  
  
Arashi sighed. 'He means well,' she reminded herself. 'I think.' she added. She closed her eyes and spread out her aura to get a feel on the situation. Suddenly, it was like she was everywhere. She could feel the auras of her new friends and the prescence of the Glow Card and beyond the door... she could feel *something* powerful, but she wasn't sure what. Her eyes snapped open and her aura returned to normal. She knew what she had to do now.  
  
"Back up," she whispered to Fenris. She took a few paces backwards, until she was halfway from the entrance and pointed her staff at the door. She started to glow blue.  
  
"Oh staff that holds the power of the stars, reveal the path I must walk. RELEASE!" A beam of blue light shot from her staff into the obsidian block where her silver magic circle appeared. The blue light rippled on the surface of the door and it dissolved into coloured lights that soon faded. Beyond the missing door was a faint, flickering light.  
  
Arashi stepped into the next room with Fenris close behind. "This is quite the high security vault." Arashi commented. And then she couldn't speak furthur as the contents of the room shocked her into silence.  
  
It was like a cathedral. The roof wasn't visible in the gloom, but Arashi guessed it was up 50 ft at least. The floor was marble and her feet made clicking noises as she walked across the polished surface. Piled all around them were gold, silver, and bronze coins, with various colored jewels and stones shining here and there. At the far walls, book cases were stacked to bulging with books of varying languages. All around the room were various magical artifacts. It looked Clow Reed was an avid collecter of magic.  
  
"Wow," she breathed.  
  
"We don't have all day, you know." Snapped Fenris.  
  
Arashi, with the help of The Little Card, stocked up on various books, charms, weapons (hey, you never know), potions, vials, outfits (all of which looked like they could fit her perfectly. She wondered, if not for the first time, what kind of person Clow Reed was if he collected little girl's clothing.), and, of course, money and put them all into her bag.  
  
As she was about to leave, a flash of light caught her eye. She walked over to where she had seen it, ignoring Fenris' impatient grumblings, and saw that what had caught her attention was a little blue sapphire in the shape of a star. She picked it up and examined it curiously. As she did so, her staff started to glow and the sapphire became nothing but blue light and shot into the wand. Startled, she let go of the wand and it started to float on its own, standing straight up. The star on the tip started to spin quickly, making it look like a blurry white-gold ball and Arashi noticed that around the spinning star, a blue halo formed, like rings around a planet. She felt the power of her staff build up and found herself chanting.  
  
"Oh power of my very own star, give onto me blessing, and grant your might onto my staff, so that I may smite the evil powers! RELEASE!" The room exploded with blue light and Arashi reached out and grabbed onto her staff which was vibrating slightly. As soon as she did this, the light faded. Her staff didn't look any different, but it pulsated with new powers. A small sapphire blue star jewel was imbedded in the center of her star.  
  
*Diagon Alley*  
  
Arashi and the others browsed the stores freely. Arashi couldn't help but notice the attraction between Harry and Ginny. Ginny, she noted, was assertive and fun loving. She didn't display her attraction towards Harry as obviously as he did, in fact, if you couldn't feel the emotions then you wouldn't know at all.  
  
'Even she doesn't know it,' Arashi thought, feeling a little amused. 'How cute!'  
  
'Please try to focus, Arashi,' came the tired voice of Fenris in her head. 'Something incredible just happened to you in the vault and all you can think about is those two?'  
  
Arashi shrugged. 'A lot of incredible things have happened to me, Fenris. Finding you and the cards, for one thing. This is pretty low on the scale and besides,' she thought. 'you've told me a thousand times that nothing happens by accident. I got a power boost in the vault which means...' she hesitated. She knew what it meant. She had been having strange dreams about it since she finished sealing her Arashi Cards, but admiting it seemed to make it more real. 'It means I'm going to need that extra power soon. It means that something... bad is going to happen.'  
  
"Hey, are you ok?" Asked Hermione. "You look kinda down."  
  
Arashi gave her a small smile. "Hai. I'm sorry, I'm just a little..." she trailed off and suddenly looked worried.  
  
"What is it?" Asked Hermione again, this time sounding more urgent.  
  
"I can... feel..." She clutched her chest and fell to her knees. She could feel a strange and poisonous power, something incredibally vile in the air. Something very powerful. Suddenly, everything went dark.  
  
****  
  
"Wake up, my love..."  
  
Arashi groaned at the sound of the voice. She could feel that someone was stroking her hair gently to wake her up. She opened her eyes weakly and found she was lying on someone's lap... someone she had never met before. He had curly black hair and dark violet eyes. He was dressed in a black cloak, lined with purple and gold. In his hands he held a long golden staff with a purple orb at the top and two small black bat-like wings coming out of the hilt. Inside the purple orb, a navy blue moon and a blood red sun were carved.  
  
She blinked confusedly. "Who... who are you?" She asked softly.  
  
The boy, who looked about her age, gave her a soft smile. There was something about his eyes, she realised with a shiver. They were very, very cold. "I am called Thanatos by some." He trailed a finger down the curve of her cheek. "I hope you will do the same." His voice was soft and he was gentle but there was something.... very, very creepy about him.  
  
'It's the eyes.' She thought. 'Something behind his eyes...' She sat up and realised, at that moment, that she wasn't wearing her regular clothes any more. She was, instead, wearing a white gown, that was frosted blue, making her look like some kind of ice queen. She also noticed where she was. It looked similar to Clow's vault, only far more ornate and grand looking. Like a palace. She had been lying on a huge bed, that looked like it could comfortably sleep 5 people, with silk black sheets. She stepped over to a mirror and saw that her hair had blue sapphires shining in her midnight hair.  
  
"Where am I?" She asked, turning to face him.  
  
"Ah, how can I explain?" He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "You are in... a vision. Well, more or less. I've had a vision, you see, a glorious vision of the future, and I have decided to share it with you." He walked up to her and took one of her hands.  
  
"What are you talking about?" She asked softly.  
  
"I shall start at the begining... a long time ago, when I was about... 11, I'd say, I found out who I really was. You see, for the longest time, I had thought that my name was Julian Coleman, the well-to-do son of Marie and Jonathon Coleman. But then, soon after my birthday, I found out I was not what I believe to be. You see... soon after my 11th birthday, my father came to visit me." Arashi felt a chill go down her spine. "My *real* father. Not the idiot, uncaring fool of a man I was forced to call father for the past 11 years. No. No, this man... was different. He was powerful in ways I could never imagine. He took me from that wretched manor, and showed me the world of magic. The world I had been deprived of because of some meddlers. I saw great things, and met my father's... followers.  
  
"They told me of the magical world and what was wrong with it. They told me all about the plague of mudbloods and half breeds. They told me the world needed to change and I believed them. So I became one of them." Arashi gasped, her free hand covering her mouth in horror. Could this little boy be the son of... "I soon became very powerful," he went on. "and on my 13th birthday I discovered another little surprise. My father had been trying almost all his life to hunt down the book of cards, The Clow Book. By the time he located it, the book had gone through many changes. It had already passed through the hands of one Mistress and was now being changed under Mistress' power... Your power, in fact." He pulled her gently closer. "My father told me to find you. He told me to take the cards from you, but when I saw you for the first time... I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was smitten, for the first time in my life." He brought her hand to his lips. "You were the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on." He said softly, cupping her face with his free hand and drawing her closer. "I knew I couldn't hurt you. So, instead, I came up with a new plan. I went out to find another deck of magical cards, any deck at all would do. And that's when I found *them*."  
  
"Them?" She asked breathlessly. Her body felt weak, and so did her mind. Her heart pounded in her chest and somewhere she could almost hear someone screaming.  
  
"Then I started to get visions... visions of the future. A future where I rule this world... and you rule at my side, as my queen." Now he wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed her against him. "Join me, Arashi. Together, the world will fall at our feet." His face was only a few inches away from her's and drawing ever closer. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears as she felt his breath tickle against her face... and someone was yelling.  
  
"DARKNESS DISPELL!!"  
  
Arashi gasped again, feeling her body being jerked away from this dream.  
  
"NO!!" Screamed Thanatos.  
  
And the world went white.  
  
****  
  
Arashi woke up again, this time lying on the floor with someone's sweater under her head.  
  
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked anxiously. "You just collapsed." Arashi looked around at the small group. They were all ashened faced and worried looking.  
  
"I'm ok." She mumbled. "Just had a weird dream..." she looked at Fenris. "Thank you."  
  
"For what?" He said. "I didn't do anything. I *couldn't* do anything... it was like you were too far away for me too reach." Though it was hard for others to tell, Arashi could sense the fear in his voice. "It was Prancibald here, who saved you. I think." He added darkly.  
  
"Who...?" Asked Arashi blearily. She looked over and saw a tall boy about her age with auburn hair and emerald eyes and a very stern expression on his face. He also held a ceremonial sword in his hand. His power radiated off of him, and, Arashi could see, his aura was dark green.  
  
"Yes," Said Fenris, narrowing his eyes. "Tell us who you are, oh knight in shining armor."  
  
"Li Xiang-Kun." He answered shortly.  
  
'Li... I know that name from somewhere...' she thought blearily. So did Fenris, appearently, because his eyes widened and fur stood on end.  
  
"What does the Li family want, then?" He growled.  
  
Xiang-Kun stared Fenris in the eyes, a feat not many people can do, and said: "None of your concern."  
  
"Then leave." Fenris said shortly.  
  
Xiang-Kun glanced at Arashi and shrugged. As he turned to leave he was stopped by a soft voice.  
  
"Thank you..."  
  
He turned to see Arashi smiling weakly up at him. He looked in her eyes for a while before nodding slightly and leaving.  
  
"Well," Ginny said when he left. "That was... different."  
  
"It was so strange." Said Hermione, helping Arashi to her feet. "You just collapsed. We were so worried."  
  
"Yeah," said Ron, who was still quite pale. "Then you started to, I don't know, glow and it was like you were getting blurry around the edges. Then this guy came up and cast some weird magic and chanted a bit. Then you woke up."  
  
"What happened, anyway?" Asked Harry a shade suspiciously.  
  
Arashi was still staring at the point where Xiang-Kun left. "Hmm?" She said, snapping back to reality. "Oh... well, we'll talk about it later."  
  
The others left while Arashi lingered a bit. She had a good idea who it was who met her in that dream... she knew it was Voldemort's son, Thanatos Riddle.  
  
****  
  
Raven: Dun dun duunnnn!!!  
  
Fenris: I didn't get many good lines in that chapter.  
  
Alex: Yeah, at least you GOT lines. Where the heck was I?  
  
Raven: Uh... *sweat drop* with Tonks?  
  
Alex: Well, she is cool...  
  
Raven: Anyway, hope you enjoyed that chapter! Please review and tell me what you think!!! 


	3. The Li Boy

Raven: Whooo! 8 reviews! I love you guys!! Especially you, Lizzeh!  
  
Fenris: Yeah, no one cares.  
  
Raven: I care.  
  
Alex: We're not going to do this again are we?  
  
Raven: Grrr....  
  
Alex: Anyway JK Rowling owns all the Harry Potter junk and CLAMP owns all the Cardcaptor Sakura stuff.  
  
Raven: On with the show...  
  
****  
*Platform 9 3/4*  
  
As Arashi stepped out of the barrier seperating the muggle world from the wizarding one, she forgot her troubles for one minute. Having lived in Tokyo, she knew all about crowded train stations so this was like coming home again.  
  
But it was soon forgotten, as usual. Ever since they had gotten back from Diagon Alley Arashi could only think about that strange boy in her dream. Every time she did, she felt nervous and angry. Angry because she had been so weak and nervous because she had a feeling Thanatos would attack soon. It was frustrating and made it hard for her to go to sleep at night. Now she always posted the Dream card on guard duty while she slept. Alex and Fenris has also taken to sleeping close by, just in case.  
  
And she couldn't stop thinking about that Li boy... about his forest green eyes and his rich, dark auburn hair. And his voice... thinking of him also made her shiver, but in a different way. It made her feel a bit excited and... comforted. When she had trouble getting to sleep, just thinking about him helped. It made her feel safe, like he was watching over her.  
  
'I'm being silly,' she thought. 'He probably doesn't even remember me.'  
  
With a sad sigh, she heaved her suitcase onto the train. Alex and Fenris helped her put the trunk on, however, as it was too heavy for her alone.  
  
She blinked at the clock and brushed a few strands of midnight black hair from her face. It was already 10:45.  
  
"We should get on," she said to her guardians.  
  
*On the train*  
  
The train was just starting to fill up when Arashi got on. She spotted Harry as he entered a compartment. She followed him and opened the compartment door. When she did, however, she came face to face with Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and at least three other people. It was obvious there wasn't enough room for her. Alex had already gone to mingle with the seventh years (as she was going to pretend to be a regular seventh year student).  
  
"Oh." she said. "I was going to join you, but I see you guys are too full already." She smiled slyly at the sight of Harry and Ginny sitting next to eachother.  
  
"Well, the train hasn't started yet so we can introduce you to the others, right?" Said Ron. Harry and the rest nodded.  
  
"Right," said Hermione. "Everyone, this is Arashi Galewich. Arashi, this is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." Arashi smiled at them murmuring a quiet hello. Neville turned a bit pink when he was introduced to her.  
  
Luna's large eyes became even larger. "So you are THE Arashi? The Card Mistress?" She said softly. "Is it true that you've met Grindewald?"  
  
Arashi's smile faded into a confused look. "Um, the wizard? I thought Dumbledore defeated him ages ago."  
  
Luna looked at her severely. "That is what SOME people may believe," she sniffed. "However, my father has it on good authority that Grindewald has returned from hiding, only now he's pretending to be a store clerk in Surrey."  
  
Arashi looked a bit stunned, as most people are when faced with Luna's... strangeness. The others just looked a bit embarassed and Hermione rolled her eyes. That's when the train started to move.  
  
"Oh dear." Said Arashi. "I'll just, er, get going then, shall I?" She politely excused herself and stepped into the hall.  
  
After wandering around a bit more she came across another compartment. She wasn't any luckier with this one, however, as it was full of teens wearing silver and green.  
  
"Oh," she said, feeling embarassed agian. "Sorry. I was just looking for a place to sit and... yeah." She coughed softly. "I'll just go." When she tried to back out, however, she walked into someone.  
  
"Draco!" Simpered one of the girls.  
  
"Eh?" Said Arashi as she spun around to see a tall slightly muscular boy with slicked back blond hair and icy blue eyes. He was quite good looking, she noticed. He looked down his nose at her and smirked.  
  
"Who's this?" He asked.  
  
"Er, I was just leaving." Arashi said. As she did so, however, Draco stepped forward, forcing her to back into the compartment. The door slid close behind him.  
  
"We don't know," said one of the boys. "She's cute though."  
  
"Indeed she is." Draco gave her a look that reminded her of a wolf eyeing its prey. The girls glared at her. One scoffed and tossed her long, platinum blond hair over her shoulder.  
  
"Honestly," she tutted. She sneered at Arashi. "Look at her stand there with that stupid look on her face," she hissed. "What are you, a mudblood?" She broke off into shrieking bits of laughter, her friends joining in.  
  
Arashi felt the heat rising in her cheeks. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you implying," she said slowly. "That being muggle born is some kind of disgrace?"  
  
The girl rolled her emerald eyes. "You pick things up fast." she said sarcastically.  
  
Arashi's normally cheerful sky blue eyes darkened and her hands bunched into fists. "Scum," she spat. "You don't deserve the gift of magic."  
  
She snickered but Arashi could see the fear behind her proud eyes. "Whatever. Go away, little girl."  
  
"Now, now, Ana." chided Draco. "Let's not be rude." He smirked and placed one hand on Arashi's shoulder. She turned her head slowly and looked him square in the eyes. After a few moments he removed his hand, looking a bit apprehensive and feeling like, for the first time in his life, he should apologise for something.  
  
The compartment was silent as Arashi turned to face the Ana girl again. Her face was expressionless but her eyes told them all they needed to know; they were in trouble.  
  
"You know what?" She said softly. "It's not worth it." She shook her head and turned on her heel to leave.  
  
As she stepped into the hall the compartment door slid open again with such force it cracked the glass. Arashi looked over her shoulder to see Ana, red faced and furious. She pointed her wand at Arashi. A few curious heads peeked out of the other compartments.  
  
"FLAGARE VULNERARE!" A streak of glowing red light shot from the wand and flew towards Arashi... where it vanished. Arashi's eyes narrowed.  
  
"You know," She said as Ana gaped in disbelief. "I was going to let this go, but now," She turned to face Ana and she noticed that Arashi's eyes were practically black now, and she could see silver specks starting to form. "you've *really* pissed me off."  
  
Ana shook her head and tried to laugh. "Please." She scoffed. Suddenly she raised her wand again and threw another more powerful curse.  
  
"ABOMINARE VOS!!"  
  
Again the curse streaked towards Arashi and again it vanished before touching her. Ana's eyes widened and she gaped again.  
  
"My turn," Arashi whispered. She held Ana's gaze with her mesmerising eyes for a few moments while slowly raising her hand. Ana stared transfixed and feeling useless. Arashi winked. She snapped her fingers.  
  
The spectators held their breath because at first, nothing happened. Then Ana simply folded over and collapsed.  
  
"Anastatia!" Shrieked one girl with a face like a pug. The other Slytherin girls hurried over to her side. Everyone looked at Arashi fearfully.  
  
"Y-you killed her!" Another Slytherin girl screamed.  
  
"No, I didn't." Arashi said calmly, her eyes having returned to their normal cerulean blue. "She's just asleep. She'll wake up feeling refreshed I assure you." She gave a small smile.  
  
"Well, she better be." One of the many girls quavered. "Otherwise... you'll be in big trouble!"  
  
Arashi sighed and turned away to walk down the hall. She could hear the whispers starting.  
  
"Did you see-"  
  
"That was wandless magic-"  
  
"Is she a sorceress?"  
  
"She looks familiar. I think she's the Card Mistress!!"  
  
"She seems dangerous."  
  
Some looked at her with admiration, others fear and suspicion. She walked into the next cart and, once again, entered another compartment.  
  
"Alright," she said as she opened the door, "I don't want any trouble so-" she stopped short when she saw who occupied the cart.  
  
A tall boy with dark auburn hair and emerald green eyes gave her a polite smile. "We meet again." Said Xiang Kun. "I saw what happened," he continued as Arashi stood there with her mouth open in disbelief. "Very impressive. I thought for certain you would have done something more... drastic."  
  
"Er... I considered it but, well," she shrugged. "It just... I have better control over myself than that. Er..." She blushed a bit and looked at her feet. "Is it, I mean, is it like... um. Could I sit here?"  
  
Xiang Kun smiled. "Of course."  
  
***  
~Later~  
  
Time seemed to fly by as they chatted. Arashi managed to get over her nervous stutter and they managed to talk.  
  
"So, where's that black stuffed animal thing?" Xiang Kun asked.  
  
"Oh... you mean Fenris? He's with Alex." She said.  
  
There was a lapse of silence.  
  
"Um-" They both began at the same time.  
  
"You go ahead," Said Xiang Kun graciously.  
  
"Where are you from? Fenris seemed to recognise you, or at least the name Li. Why?" She asked looking at him anxiously.  
  
Xiang Kun looked a bit puzzled. "Probably because my family, the Li family, is a very powerful and old extablished family."  
  
Arashi nodded in understanding. "Probably." She agreed. "Fenris makes it his business to know the what's what about the magical world."  
  
"He seems very agressive." Xiang Kun said.  
  
Arashi giggled and shook her head. "You have no idea. He's very bitter because no one takes him seriously in his little form. When I first met him, he trained me very hard so that I could capture the cards and so he could return to his normal state." She smiled fondly at the memories.  
  
Xiang Kun looked puzzled. "These don't sound like good memories. Why are you smiling?"  
  
Arashi closed her eyes. "Because once I yelled at him for working me so hard. I accused him of just doing it so he didn't have to be little anymore. After I had finished he told me, calmly, that he only pushed me so hard because he knew I could take it. He didn't say it directly, but I knew he was telling me that he saw something in me. Something special." She placed one of her hands on her chest. "He may seem rough but I know he cares about me." She opened her eyes suddenly and broke from her trance. "Oh!" She said blushing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ramble."  
  
Xiang Kun had been watching her with a smile the whole time. "It's alright." He said. "You have a lovely voice. I enjoy listening to it."  
  
Arashi blushed harder and looked at her feet. She was secretly pleased at hearing that, however.  
  
****  
~Later~  
  
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. They chatted and snacked from the food cart when it came around. They had the occassional visit from Harry and his friends and even one from Alex and Fenris. It was a rather embarassing visit as Alex kept making knowing, smug looks and Fenris just glared.  
  
"It seems we're here." Xiang Kun said, glancing out the window. It had started to rain an hour ago and hasn't stopped since.  
  
"Oh," Said Arashi, trying to hide the dissapointment in her voice. She had been enjoying the time she spent with Xiang Kun in privacy.  
  
They got out of the train with the rest of the students, but Arashi became a bit confused what to do when she heard Hagrid calling for the first years to follow him. She was debating going in the boats with the little first years when she felt Xiang Kun's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"This way," he said. He lead her into a cart. They had only been out for a few minutes but already Arashi was soaked. She shivered slightly.  
  
"Where will I have to go?" She asked.  
  
"Somewhere... private." He said with a grin. Arashi frowned at him. Something didn't feel right.  
  
"What do you mean?" She asked slowly.  
  
"I mean, I'm taking you where no one can hear you die." He said with a chuckle.  
  
Arashi's eyes widened. She whipped around to look out the window but only saw trees around her. She had been lead into the Forbidden Forest! She kicked the door open and jumped out, rolling on the ground a few times. The cart rumbled off into the distance but Xiang Kun - 'or something that looked like him,' Arashi thought. - was still there.  
  
****  
  
Ron and the others were walking peacefully up to the castle. Harry paused before leaving to give a small pat on the head to the Threstralls. They were starting to grow on him. Just as he was about to leave, he felt someone come up behind him. It was Xiang Kun.  
  
"Hey," Harry said, a little startled. He knew the boy had transfered into Gryffindor back in his third year but they had never really spoken.  
  
"Hey," said Xiang Kun, looking distracted. "Is Arashi with you?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "No I assumed she was with you."  
  
Xiang Kun looked concerned. "No she was behind me a minute ago, now she's gone..." He caught sight of Alex running into the forest in the distance with Fenris trailing after her. "Something's wrong." He said darkly.  
  
****  
  
Raven: cliffie!! Alright!!  
  
Fenris: Finally some action! I get to kill things!  
  
Raven: We'll see.  
  
Fenris: WTF do you mean "we'll see"? I need killing!  
  
Alex: e_e whatever Ri-Ri.  
  
Fenris: Stop calling me that! *chases her around*  
  
Raven: is it just me, or do all my chappies end like that? *shakes head* anyway, special thanks to everyone who has reviewed, especially lizzeh and Ferokeroberos! To su-su: this is my first posted fanfic but it isn't my first. To everyone else: PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	4. Deception Of The Dark Card

Raven: Next chappie yay!

Fenris: This chapter features me being cool. you don't want to miss it.

Alex: You being cool? That'll be a first.

Fenris: In this chapter I will tear Alex limb from limb. You don't want to miss it.

Raven: All stuff does not belong to me. It all belongs to CLAMP and JK Rowling. They can fight over it if they want.

* * *

"Key that holds the power of the stars, reveal yourself to me, RELEASE!"

The small clearing was bathed in light. When it cleared, Arashi stood, wand at the ready for attack. She faced "Xiang Kun".

"What a pretty little staff," "Xiang Kun" sneered.

Arashi smirked. The rain was pasting her hair to her face but she hardly felt the cold anymore. She pulled out a card and threw it in the air.

"WOOD!"

Vines shot out of the card and towards "Xiang Kun". They wrapped him up and bound him tightly. He didn't even struggle as they held him ten feet above the ground. Arashi flew up level with him, using the Fly Card.

"Alright," she said while thunder rumbled in the distance. "I'll give you one chance to tell me who you really are."

The imposter smiled and glowed with a blood red aura. Arashi's eyes widened.

_'I know that aura...'_ she thought. _'This feels like... one of my cards.'_

Suddenly the vines where thrown off and the imposter charged at her, swiping with his hands. She was too slow to react and caught the full force of the attack. She fell to the ground where the imposter started to strangle her. Her wand had fallen a few feet from her and she struggled to reach it. Everything was starting to get dark and the noise of the storm sounded like it was coming from far away. There was another roar of thunder... and suddenly the imposter had been thrown off of her by something large and black.

Coughing and choking, Arashi grabed her wand and scrambled to her feet. Then she saw Fenris in his true form, pinning the imposter to the ground with one large paw and growling.

It was hard to get over how magnificant Fenris looked in his true form. That was one thing he did not exaggerate on. He was a large, black wolf with deep scarlet eyes. He wore similar armour that Kerberos wore with a red star gem on his forehead. His large feathery wings were black with the feathers becoming red at the tips. His lips were pulled back as he growled, revealing rows of pearly white, needle sharp teeth.

The imposter wasn't grinning any more.

"Change!" Fenris demanded in a harsh voice.

The imposter gave a slight nod and a wimper. He was soon enveloped in dark red light. Fenris stood back and waited, flicking his tail in irritation. When the light faded Arashi gasped in surprise at what she saw.

It looked like her own Mirror Card only... darker. There was something sinister about the way she looked. Fenris, too, looked surprised. His fur stood on end and he bared his teeth once more.

"What kind of trickery is this!" He demanded angrily.

"It's... the Dark Cards." Arashi said in a hushed voice.

"What in Hell's blazes are the Dark Cards!" He growled, not keeping his eyes off of the nervous looking Mirror Card.

"I- I..." Arashi faltered, remembering her grandfather's words. "Things of evil..." she murmured. She narrowed her eyes and pulled out another card and threw it in the air.

"SWORD!"

Her wand was enveloped with light and when it faded, Arashi was holding a slender rapier-like sword. She charged forward and expertly swung the sword in a diagonal arc, across the Mirror Card. The Mirror Card let out a piercing shriek and was once again enveloped in light. When it faded, two little pieces of paper fluttered to the ground. Arashi bent over and picked up both. It was the card, cut in half. The front was blank, and the back had a similar symbol that her's had, only black, red, and purple. Instead of the star and moon, it had a red, upside down star with another rightside up purple star behind it.

"The Sword Card." Said a voice behind them, startling Arashi. "Is there anything it can't do?" Arashi spun around to see Alex entering through the clearing.

"You're late." Fenris sneered. "As usual."

Alex shrugged. "It's not like you guys needed me anyway." She smiled briefly. "You did it all yourself. Yay!" She gave an ironic bout of applause. Fenris bared his teeth once more with a low growl.

As her guardians bickered Arashi was considering the card and the warning her grandfather gave her.

_'So,'_ she thought._ 'There really is another deck of cards. And they were pretty powerful.'_ She sighed. She was dissapointed in herself for falling so easily to the card._ 'Next time,'_ she vowed. _'I'll handle it myself. I'm no one's victim.'__  
_

* * *

In a shadowed room, illuminated only by a flickering fire, a young boy sat in a large red arm chair. He stared into the flames silently. Suddenly his fist slammed down on one of the arms and he cursed.

"The Mirror card is gone," He growled to the two figures standing near him. "This is most... vexing."

"As I understand it," said a soft, smooth female voice. "The Mirror Card was trying to kill her anyway. And, we all know, that's not what you want."

The figure stood up from the chair and stalked over to a desk where a book, similar to Arashi's but with different colours, lay. He picked it up carefully and sighed. "No," he admited. "That is not what I want... I know what I want." He said softly. He straightened up suddenly and spun on his heel and began to walk out the door.

"The Mirror Card is a regrettable loss," he said louder this time. "But one we can afford."

"That's true," said another female voice. "You can always make a new one, master."

Thanatos smiled. "Yes, I can."

* * *

Arashi hurried up the stairs of the castle and into the Great Hall where everyone had just started to sit down. The room was full of chatter but a number of people took notice of the strange, drowned rat looking girl who was bruised and limping slightly. Especially when the girl was being followed by another girl with sea green hair.

She hobbled over to the teacher's table and stopped infront of the headmaster.

"I got hurt." She said flatly before anyone could speak.

Dumbledore nodded and gestured to one of the teachers. "Professor Snape will escort you to the Infirmary."

"I will?" Said Snape looking slightly alarmed.

"Yes, of course you will." Dumbledore said pleasently. "But first," he continued. "Perhaps you should be sorted." He gestured to where McGonagal had brought out the Sorting Hat along with two rows of scared looking first years.

"Oh," she said softly. As the hat sang its song, Arashi let her eyes wander over the crowd. She tried to pick out Xiang Kun amoung the faces but he didn't even tell her what house he was in. She did find Harry and the others, however and waved to them weakly. They looked concerned but she tried to show them that everything was alright.

When the song had finished, Dumbledore nodded and Arashi approached the stool. The hat was placed on her head and fell over her eyes. Then she heard the hat speak in her mind.

'Hmmm...' it said. 'Very, veryintelligent, yes, good enough for Ravenclaw... But also a great loyalty that would make you perfect for Hufflepuff... You are ambitious to prove your worth which would make you fit in at Slytherin... but, ah, your greatest quality is most certainly your courage. You shall be in GRYFFINDOR!' Arashi was startled when the last word was shouted to the hall. She heard the applause of the houses, and also noticed, as she eased off of the stool, the boys applauding extra hard.

She walked back to the teacher's table. Snape began to ruefully stand up, but Arashi said: "Wait! I'd like to see Alex sorted, please."

Alex strode up to the hat and placed it daintily on her head. After a few seconds the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and the hall erupted in applause yet again, loudest coming from the Slytherins. Anastatia, the girl who Arashi fought on the train, gave Arashi the coldest look she could manage and whispered something to her neighbour.

Snape looked, if possible, even more miserable. He stood up yet again and jerked his head irritably, gesturing for her to follow. He swept out of the hall, walking a few paces ahead of Arashi not caring if she fell behind.

"So," she said when she managed to hobble within ear shot. "You're the head of the Slytherin house, huh?"

He glanced back coolly but didn't respond.

"That's cool," she went on with undestroyable cheer. "You teach potions too? I did pretty good at potions in my last school but I'm told Hogwarts is tougher than my last school. I like to do potions because they're challenging like a puzzle. I like puzzles."

She continued the mindless prattle all the way to the infirmiry where Snape told Madam Pompfrey everything.

"Also," he said. "I think she may have a concussion." He gave Arashi a sideways glance.

"No," Arashi said innocently. "Why do you think that?"

Snape just gave her a long look and shook his head. "Nevermind," he muttered as he swept out.

"He seems nice," Arashi remarked cheerfully. Madam Pompfrey looked at her like she did indeed hit her head before coming there and began to heal her.

A few minutes later she was healed.

"You can go down to the feast if you like," Madam Pompfrey said briskly as she tidied up. "It isn't over yet."

Arashi thought of her enterance and thought of all the awkward questions she'd be asked that she wasn't prepared to answer just yet. As she was ushered out of the hospital wing, she privately decided just to find her dormitory and have a big breakfast tomorrow. She slung her backpack off and opened it.

"You can come out now," she whispered in the dark. Fenris flew out of her bag looking the same as usual (not happy).

"Where are we going?" He asked.

Arashi sighed. "Not back to the feast. I was thinking of trying to find the dormitories."

Fenris looked thoughtful for a minute and then said: "No, let's go somewhere... better." He gazed off into the darkness of the halls ahead. "Follow me." He said shortly before flying off. Arashi had to jog to keep up with the little fur ball as it darted from hall to hall. A few portraits gave her a friendly wave or a dissaproving look as she sped by. She was quite quick on her feet, however, and moved almost as quickly as Fenris through the halls. She couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Memories of spending time in Hogwarts back when her family was on speaking terms with her grandfather. She used to spend her days chatting with the portraits or the ghosts and even some of the teachers. She wondered if any of them remembered her.

Finally Fenris stopped in front of a large marble statue. It was a large phoenix statue. She stared up at it wide eyed.

"What's this about, Fenris?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Fenris flew over to the statue. "This is the enterance to Clow Reed's private quarters. I'm sure they're yours now. The password is... er..." He looked to be in deep thought. "I used to know it..."

Arashi felt the answer without being told. "Storm." She said quietly. Sure enough, the statue lept to life and out of the way, revealing a long hall beyond. She stepped in and saw the statue jump back into place behind her. At the end of the hall was a fine oak door with a golden doorknob and keyhole beneath it. Without needing to be told, she pulled out her key and unlocked the door. It swung inwards, revealing the large place beyond.

It looked to be a living room. The floor was a darkly coloured hardwood with a plush carpet in the middle where two incredibally comfortable looking couches sat infront of a fire place. There was all kinds of paintings on the walls. Up the small stairs was her bedroom. It was also tastefully decorated with a large, comfortable looking bed in the middle. Connected to the bedroom was a fine bathroom with a small pool sized bathtub with many taps on the side. The bathroom was all gold and marble decorated.

After she finished admiring the surroundings, Arashi got to work filling the bookcases with the books she found in Clow Reed's vault, along with her own personal collection of stories and magic books. She also pulled out a small CD player and hesitated. Someone had told her electronics didn't work in Hogwarts... but she could probably fix that. She placed the CD player on her nightstand, next to her large collection of CDs and used her aura to block out the magical interfierence, allowing the electronic to work.

She put in her Lifehouse CD and climbed into bed for a long sleep.

* * *

Arashi was running in her PJs. The half moon hung over the dark, thick Forbidden Forest where Arashi ran, barefoot and terrified. She could feel something getting closer to her, she could hear its footfalls. But she was quick and nimble and ducked and dodged through the trees in an effort to loose it.

_You are my victim._

"I'm... no one's... victim..." she panted, stumbling a bit. The trees grasped and clawed at her as she ran past, tearing her blue pajamas and cutting her skin. She was starting to loose energy but her fear kept her going. She could see the light at the end of the forest and ran more frantically than ever towards it. The footfalls behind her were louder and more rapid. She could almost feel its breath on the back of her neck. Her legs screamed in pain, her lungs were on fire but the light was so close... _'Just a little further...'_ She was begining to feel faint. Her head swum with the lack of oxygen. It was so close. _'It's right behind me...'_ Tears stung her eyes and it was right on her-

* * *

Arashi woke up with a start. Her heart pounded in her chest and her legs ached, just a little. She slumped forwards and fought back tears. She couldn't stand these dreams any more. She was always running...

Once again she called out Dream to protect her as she slept the rest of the night.

* * *

Raven: done! Yayyy!

Fenris: I was cool! Yayyy!

Alex: No you weren't! Yayyyy!

Raven: Special thanks to muh beta, Lizzeh, and to Ferokeroberos who's just neat. If you like what you read PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews make me write faster!


	5. Don't Tell The Kid

Raven: Next chapter is a go go!

Fenris: Stop talking.

Alex: Everything belongs to other people. Arrr matey! I wish I hadn't missed Talk Like a Pirate Day...

Raven: Because ff.n doesn't recognise the little star thingie I use for scene cchanges anymore i have to use something else. Like numbers.

* * *

Arashi was running late the next morning.

"Arrrg!" She screamed as she rushed around the large room. "I can't believe I overslept! It was that damn dream." She muttered angrily as she hopped around, pulling on her uniform. Fenris watched the scene with mild interest. He stood up and stretched out as she ran a brush quickly through her raven black hair.

After making a last minute touch on her make up, she bolted out the door and jogged through the hall. 'Hopefully I'll make it in time for breakfast,' she thought as she ran past some startled second years.

Back in the large room, Fenris flitted over to the bookcase and, with surprising strength, pulled one of the large tomes out and settled down to read. A few minutes later, a whip crack was heard and a house elf appeared.

"Hello, mistress!" The elf said cheerfully. "I am Dru and I am here to help you with anything you- oh!" Dru said noticing she was speaking to a stuffed animal. "She's gone?"

"Perceptive of you," Fenris said without looking up.

* * *

--Great hall--

"AARASHIIIIIIII!" Alex called out from over the hall, waving one hand in the air. Arashi gave a small wave back, blushing at the racket her friend was causing. As she took her seat at the Gryffindor table with Ginny, Alex bounded over.

"Hey Alex," She said as she piled some food on her plate. "What's up?"

Alex frowned at her. "What happened to you last night?"

"Eh?" Arashi said through a mouthful of food. She swallowed quickly and responded: "Oh, I went to Clow's old chambers."

Ginny, who had been eating quietly, looked up at this. "Wait," she said. "You get your own room?"

Arashi gave a shy smile. "Er, it's one of the perks of being a Card Mistress I guess." She laughed nervously while Ginny pouted. She looked back up to Alex to see Alex staring distractedly along the table. "What's up?" She asked, concerned.

Alex looked back at her, startled. She gave a sly smile and said "Nothing" before flouncing away back to the Slytherin table. Arashi blinked and shrugged. She had such strange guardians.

Ginny, too, looked along the table and suddenly understood. Xiang Kun was sitting a bit of the way down and he kept glancing at Arashi. _'I think someone has a crush on someone.'_ She smirked and shook her head.

She didn't notice Harry glancing at her.

* * *

--Later--

The bell rang, signaling the end of her class. Arashi picked up her stuff and made her way down the hall, to go to Magical Creatures class. At the entrance, however, she saw Xiang Kun talking quietly with his friends. Her heart skipped a beat and she went pink as she debated whether or not to go there. Ginny and her friends, Victoria and Aaby, came up behind her.

"Come on, Ashi." Aaby said, using the nickname Arashi had aquired over the course of the day. "We're gonna be late for class." She added, absentmindedly wrapping one of her auburn curls over her finger.

"She's staring at Xiang Kun," Victoria said, her lilac eyes sparkling with mirth as she giggled. She poked her lightly. "Right? Am I right? Right?"

"Yes, yes- I mean no! No! No." Arashi shouted turning bright red as the girls doubled over with laughter. "You guys suck." She said, sulkily as she turned around and walked away. Unfortunately, because she wasn't watching where she was going, she ran into the object of her affections. And fell on her behind.

"I-I'm sorry, Xiang Kun!" She said, getting even redder (if possible). She started to gather her fallen papers, trying to ignore her friends laughing even harder. She looked up to see Xiang Kun smiling at her, with his arms full of her papers and books.

"Here," he said. "Let me help you," He helped her gather everything into her bag. While they were close, he whispered: "Be careful," Arashi looked up at him, startled. He gave her a serious look. The bell rang.

"Come on," Ginny said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Xiang Kun. "We're gonna be late!"

* * *

--Care of Magical Creatures--

"Gather roun' gather roun'." Said Hagrid as the last of the class assembled. "Today we're gonna take a look at the rare Namir. C'mon and take a look," He gestured for them to follow him to a large, fenced in area. The class followed timidly, fearing what new monster Hagrid had found to cuddle.

"Oooooh!" Said one of the girls, pointing excitedly to the creatures within.

The creatures looked like smallish wild cats, like an ocelot, but with alternate coloured fur. Some were silver with darker silver stripesand others had a fine gold coat with black spots. Each had folded feathered wings on their backs. There were two, however, that stood out. One was a soft, snowy white with bright green eyes, silvery looking wings and a pink star on its forehead. It blinked curiously up at the assembled crowd. The other was a dark ebony black with startling ice blue eyes and golden wings. A sapphire blue moon adorned its forehead. Although it sat perfectly still, it looked somehow menacing.

The class gathered around the padlock and ooohed and aaahed at the cats. A lot of the girls coo'ed, including Ginny and her friends.

"They're pretty rare, mind, but lately a new clan has moved into the forest. The leader has kindly agreed to spend some time 'ere with yas." He went on to explain their eating habits. Most of the kids only paid some attention, while the others continued to coo at the cats.

"Why are they so rare, Hagrid?" Ginny asked.

"Well, their bein' hunt into extinction, ya see. Back in the ol' days, their fur was very valuable and the little gem in the leader's forehead is ver' powerful, see, used to be used in wand making, but now it's illegal o' course. This clan moved into the forest durin' the summer."

"They're sooo cute," Aaby squealed her light blue eyes filled with adoration.

"Here puss, puss, puss," Victoria called, trying to attract the Namirs to her as her long raven black hair tumbled over her shoulder.

Arashi leaned over the fence and offered her hand. "They are so... beautiful," she murmured. One of the littler ones, a kitten, she assumed, sniffed at her hand and gave it an experimental lick. Arashi giggled softly and stroked it's soft fur while it purred quietly.

"Er, Ashi? Should we really be touching them?" Aaby asked eyeing the black one warily. It was watching the kitten like a hawk.

Arashi sighed at the nickname. _'Why don't they just call me "sooty"'_ she thought. "It seems to be okay," She said. Just then she caught sight of Anastatia who had been watching the whole exchange. She sneered.

"Huh," she said loudly to her friends. "These cats must be really stupid to accept a monster like her," she said in a loud whisper, before breaking off into giggles. She then flipped her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned over the fence and offered her hand to one of the kittens. The black one's head snapped around to look at Ana and in a blur of black it was suddenly in front of Ana's hand and the kitten. It's fur stood on end and it opened its mouth in a soft hiss. Ana flinched backwards, looking frightened. The Namir didn't settle down though, as it started to glow softly and its eyes darkened significantly.

Hagrid took notice and yelled: "Who went near their cubs? They don' like it when strangers go near their cubs!"

"She did it!" Aaby said gleefully, jabbing her finger in Ana's direction. Ana gave her a spiteful look and pointed at Arashi, who was now cuddling the cub in her arms.

"She's doing it too!" She whined.

Hagrid looked over in amazement at Arashi. Arashi grinned sheepishly at the class.

"Er, I didn't know we weren't allowed to touch them." She said, timidly putting the little cub back.

Hagrid seemed to be at loss for words and the class, minus Ana who glared at her angrily, stared at her in surprise.

"Er..." said Hagrid. "Righ'. Anyway, the Namir is one of the fastest creatures on Earth and one of the few creatures who actually have their own brand of magic, which is why their jewels were used in wand makin', ya see." The rest of the lesson continued in peace, although Arashi had to resist the urge to pet the cub again.

* * *

--Potions--

Professor Snape was already writing the day's lesson on the board when the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students came in.

As Arashi sat down with Ginny and her friends, she couldn't help but notice how Luna Lovegood was staring at her. Her wide eyed look made Arashi uneasy. Finally, she couldn't take it any more and said: "Is something wrong?"

"I heard about you and the Namirs today," she said in a hushed, excited whisper.

Arashi felt her stomach twist. The news had spread that fast?

"Oh?" She said in a small voice.

Luna leaned closer and whispered. "Is it true that they can speak telepathicly?"

"I... don't know?" Arashi said, confused.

Victoria, a long time subscriber to The Quibbler, perked up and asked Luna in an excited voice: "Is this something your dad found out?"

Luna looked a bit smug. "Yes, father did extensive research on the subject." She and Victoria began an excited conversation about deadly Queezles. Aaby just rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Loony," muttered Ginny. "The both of them." Just then the bell rang and class began.

"Today," Snape began, "we will be starting our creation of the Fauna Potion, a complicated potion used by curious wizards to discover what their animagus form would be." He sounded a little irritated. "Normally this would not be on your curriculum, but the Headmaster feels it would do good so..." he sighed and waved his wand, unlocking the ingredient cuboards. "This potion should take up a month's worth of work. Today you will simply start the basics, and later you will be sent out to hunt down the more tricky ingredients. Begin."

Arashi opened her text book and read through the ingredient list. Like Snape had said, there were some rare ingredients, the kind that wasn't likely to be found in a school cubboard.

"I wonder why we're doing this potion?" Aaby asked outloud as she began to chop her roots. "It doesn't seem useful to me."

"It must have something to do with You-Know-Who," Ginny said wisely. "I've noticed a change in most of my classes. Now we're learning things that could be useful for the fight against You-Know-Who in some way."

Arashi's mind wandered to the robed figure in the dream she had during her stay at the Black Mansion. She shuddered and focused her attention on preparing her ingredients. This would be an interesting potion, indeed.

* * *

--Supper--

Arashi stretched out and walked out of her last class and down to supper. Finally. She was quite hungry.

As she went down to the great hall, chatting happily with Ginny and her friends, she felt light and carefree, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Then, as they approached the doors, Arashi's eyes met with a pair of dark forest green ones. She stopped suddenly. The other girls looked confused at first, but after seeing Xiang Kun walking up to them, they looked sly. Ginny put her hand on Arashi's shoulder.

"We'll go on ahead." She said before Arashi could protest.

"Yeah," agreed Aaby with a wink. "We'll save you a seat."

"Have fun," Victoria giggled as the walked on ahead.

Xiang Kun nodded at them in greeting as they walked passed him, and then turned his brilliant smile on Arashi who stood there, her face pink. "Hello," he greeted.

"Hi," Arashi smiled nervously.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you? In private?" Arashi looked slightly panicked, remembering those same words from the previous night. "About last night?" He continued. She nodded and let herself be guided into a nearby classroom.

Xiang Kun stood back, as if to examine her. "So," he began. "Tell me, what happened to you last night?" His voice was full of concern. Arashi's fear seemed to melt away at the sound of his voice.

She shrugged and sighed. "I was attacked by another set of cards, called the Dark Cards. The Mirror card pretended to be you and I was tricked." She shook her head. "It's not gonna happen again. I killed it."

Xiang Kun sighed - with relief? - and smiled. "I'm glad. Listen," he pulled something out of his pocket and took her hand. "If you ever need me, use this," he placed something into her hand and curled her fingers around it. "I want to help you," He murmured giving her a small smile which she returned. He nodded and walked out.

Arashi stared after him for a while. She shook herself slightly, and opened her hand to see what he had given her. It was a small jade cresent moon pendent. She smiled, blushing a bit again, and attatched it to her necklace.

As she walked down to the great hall she felt like she could float. She had never been so happy.

* * *

Alex sighed and turned down the abandoned corridor, her dolly shoes' clicking the only noise she could hear, other than the distant roar of the dinner feast. She moved swiftly and her usually carefree face was hard and emotionless. She felt something... threatening. She expanded her aura as she walked, and glowed a soft sea green for a few moments...

She could feel her mistress, ridiculously happy for some reason. She could feel Fenris, agitated as usual. She could feel the new, unfamiliar and surprisingly powerful aura of that Li boy.And she could feel... something... something close... There!

She stopped suddenly, turned on her heel and headed into an long empty class room. The chairs and desks were piled over on one side of the room and the only illumination was the silvery moonlight... which shone brightly off of the broken glass shards on the floor. She knelt down and examined the glass curiously as a soft, chilly breeze played with her hair.

Plink!

She stiffened. In one fluid movement she was on her feet and slowly, she turned around to face the.. whatever it was.

"Oh, I'm sorry," It was a girl, about her age, but with black hair down to her mid back and russet brown eyes. She was smiling in a most peculiar way. "I didn't mean to startle you," Alex narrowed her eyes. Arashi's magic circle appeared under her feet and wings encircled her.

"Liar," she breathed before being envoloped by the wings and falling asleep. Light erupted from the centre of the wings and a moment later they opened once more to reveal Artemis. Her short white-blue hair was cut into a bob with her elongated, pointed ears sticking out, and her ice blue eyes narrowed at the new comer. She wore a white bodice with open sides that were laced up with silver thread, a navy blue cloak clasped with a silver crescent moon pendent, and a short, loose navy blue skirt that was fastened with a silver chain belt. She wore a white fingerless glove that went just past her elboes on her right arm and on her left arm a silver arm circlet and white boots. Her feathery wings were frosted blue at the tips. She was thinner now, more delicate looking, and her skin was paler.

The girl didn't seem to fazed by all this. Instead she shook her head and chuckled. "It's to be like this, then?" She narrowed her eyes and smiled evilly. "Very well." A red magic circle appeared under her feet and blue-black bat-like wings enveloped her. After a moment, they opened once more to reveal a woman with floor length blue-black hair and bright red eyes. She wore a revealing dress of black and ice blue. She smiled, revealing sharp fangs. "Let's play."

Artemis had already drawn her bow of light and before the other could react, she fired off three arrows and struck her in the chest. The woman screamed with rage and pulled the light arrows out. She launched forwards, scratching with her long, sharp nails. Artemis attempted to dodge, but the woman was too fast and struck her across the face. Artemis staggered backwards and turned to face the woman slowly, three crimson lines showed starkly against her pale skin. Artemis growled low and summoned her crystal dagger and charged forwards. The woman dodged quickly but Artemis continued to advance and slash with precision and skill. Finally she managed to land a blow at her chest. The woman shrieked and fell back. She tried to get up but was stopped by a stilleto heeled white boot on her chest. She looked up into Artemis' calm face and was mesmerised by the tip of a light arrow aimed at her face.

"Who are you?" Artemis asked calmly.

The woman's features twisted into a pained smile. "Midnight," she responded.

Artemis narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Who sent you?"

"Guess." Midnight's eyes narrowed with malevolence, smirking.

Artemis said nothing but her suspicions were confirmed. Suddenly she was thrown to the side by a force colliding with her, the bow and arrow vanishing from her hands. She was on the floor and suddenly felt a sharp pain in her neck. Through the red haze she saw a large blood red beast with golden eyes. It looked like a tiger, almost, with red fur and darker red stripes. It was sleek and had a sun jewel on its forhead. Its teeth dug into her neck. Suddenly the pressure was gone and the beast was thrown to the side. Fenris stood over Artemis, large and intimidating.

The beast hissed at Fenris and gestured to Midnight, who picked herself off the ground painfully. A shatter of the glass window, and they were gone.

Artemis groaned. Fenris looked at her sharply.

"You're bleeding." He observed. Artemis made a noise half way between a laugh and a cough. After some awkward manouvering, they managed to get Atremis onto Fenris' back and he began to hobble slowly to the Hospital wing.

After a while Artemis spoke weakly. "Don't tell the kid."

* * *

Raven: aaand thats all for now.

Fenris: Only one appearance?

Raven: I don't like this chapter very much. hopefully my next chapter will be better...

Fenris: it couldn't get worse.

Raven: Thanks to those who have reviewed, especially Ferokeroberos and my mate, Lizzeh. you rock, girl! To anyone else: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	6. An Unexpected Announcement

Raven: Next chaptah is a go go!

Fenris: Remember that thing I told you to do with your mouth?

Raven: Um, "stop using it"?

Fenris: Yes exactly.

Raven: I just read Tsubasa Resivior Chronicles! It's sooooo good!

Alex: Blah, blah, disclaimer whatever.

Raven: Uh, I should warn you guys that this chapter is a little more... adult than the last chapters. 16 year old boys talk about dirty things.

* * *

--Hogwarts--

It had been many days since the incident, and Alex was back on her feet. The healing was ridiculously easy to do, as when Artemis slept, she healed herself.

"I guess it's one of the few good things about not being a human, eh?" She commented to Fenris who hovered next to her as she walked down the hall to her next class, Potions. She continued to chatter aimlessly as Fenris stuck close. Ever since the attack, he had been keeping a close eye on her. He considered looking after Arashi, but considering she had a deck of all powerful cards and that Li boy to watch her, it seemed pretty useless. Plus the girl needed to learn to look after herself.

Fenris allowed his mind to wander as he toned out Alex's rambling. Yes, she had to learn to look after herself, but what about that boy that's been following her? His eyes narrowed. Arashi had taken quite a liking to him, too much of a liking in fact. Fenris didn't like the way she looked at him. It was... distracting her from more important things.

"...and so I wondered to myself 'what would make Professor McGonagal happy?' and the answer came to me: flowers. A lot of 'em. Well, she didn't like them. How was I supposed to know about her allergies?" Alex continued her mindless chatter.

Fenris sighed and wondered for the umpteenth time why he was stuck with two air heads. At least Artemis had some intellegence. Too bad she spent most of her time asleep.

* * *

--Great Hall, Dinner-- 

The day had passed in a blur, or so it seemed to Arashi. She had spent most of the day with her friends Ginny, Aaby, and Victoria and going through various classes. She found the school to be interesting, but rather easy as well. Then again, she reflected, I always was a quick learner. And my old school was a little strickter.

She had also met with Xiang Kun a few times in the halls and even had lunch with him. She was getting past her "too-red-and-embarassed-to-speak" stage and could actually form complete sentences when he was around. However, because she had lunch with him she was so preoccupied she barely ate and was now ravonously hungry. As she entered the hall she passed Xiang Kun who gave her a friendly wave and smile before he was swallowed up by the crowd of students.

She sat down, feeling like she was floating on air, next to her friends who were all looking very smug. She noticed their looks and scoweled.

"Oh, knock it off," she muttered as Aaby snickered.

"You're quite lucky, you know," Victoria observed. "He's a catch. Many-a-girl have flirted and otherwise thrown themselves at them and he never acted on it." She smirked. "I was begining to think he was gay, but recient developments prove otherwise," she said giving Arashi a sideways glance.

Arashi blushed and pretended to be interested in her brussel sprouts.

Ginny snorted. "A lot of girls did try to get his attention, you included Tori." (Victoria waved her hand. "That was just a phase...") "His biggest fan, however, would have to be Anastatia."

Arashi looked startled. "Really?" She blurted.

Ginny nodded and stared thoughtfully across the hall to where Ana sat with her friends. "Yeah... maybe that's why she hates you so much."

When dinner finished, Dumbledore stood up and the hall fell into silence. It wasn't often he made speeches, and the students were now curious as to what he would say. He treated them to a smile and his eyes twinkled.

"This year I have a special treat for you all. In an effort to raise spirits we will be having a number of events. The first of which will be on Halloween." He paused for effect. "We will be having a masquerade." The hall broke into excited murmurs and giggles. Dumbledore held up his hands for silence. "It will be for fourth years and over, however," raising his voice slightly over the angry mutters from the younger years. "You can invite a younger student, if you wish." With that he dismissed them, allowing the students to file out and talk exctitedly.

"A mask!" Victoria gushed. "Perfect! This is an excellent excuse for me to look gorgeous!"

"You mean for you to get tarted up?" Aaby said with a grin.

Ginny sighed as they began to bicker in the way of old friends. "Who are you going to be?" She asked, turning to Arashi who had been watching the fight with a shocked expression. She turned to Ginny and shrugged.

"No idea. I'm sure Alex will have some... suggestions." She looked a bit forlorn. "She means well." She added, more for her own sake than Ginny's. "What about you?"

Ginny glanced towards the end of the hall and turned a slight pink. "I'm not sure," she said not turning from where she was looking. Arashi looked over as well and saw Harry talking to Hermione and Ron. She wasn't surprised. "They seem awfully close, don't they?" She asked quietly, referring to Hermione and Harry.

"I thought you said your brother fancied Hermione...?"

"Yes, but he's so thick, he'll never make a move. Harry on the other hand..." she trailed off with a sigh.

Victoria, who had stopped fighting to pay attention spoke up: "From what I've heard," she said, "Harry isn't exactly Casanova."

"True," Aaby said thoughtfully. "His relationship with Cho crashed and burned."

"Huh!" Said Ginny with a dark look on her face. Victoria and Aaby exchanged knowing looks. Ginny's opinion of Cho had become steadily worse over the summer.

"Anyway," Arashi said hurridly, feeling the tension in the air. "What are you two going to go as?"

Aaby shrugged. "Well, it's a little early to decide, isn't it? I mean we have three weeks to make up our minds. It's a good thing we have a Hogsmead trip this weekend, we can stop off at Cataline's Cornicopia of Costumes."

Victoria sniffed disdainfully. "If you want to buy mass market outfits everyone is going to have, why not? Some of us, on the other hand, prefer to make their own costumes." She gave a squeal. "I can't wait! I'm going to start sketching out plans tonight."

Aaby rolled her eyes and Arashi gave a weak smile and chatted with Aaby about their costumes. Ginny had returned to staring across the halls.

* * *

--Gryffindor 5th Year Girls' Dorms-- 

Arashi had decided to spend the night with her friends. She had been sleeping in the girls' dormitories for a week and quite enjoyed their before bed talks, even if it made her sleep through her first class each morning. Luckily she only had Potions in the afternoons, so there was no real danger to it.

She felt safer sleeping with the others. She had less dreams, for some reason, when she was with them. She sat on the edge of her bed and fussed around in her chest while the other girls were still getting ready for bed. Victoria came in first and pulled out her sketch book which was full of odd fashion ideas.

She gave a muffled "Aha!" and pulled out the Arashi Book. Aaby, who had just come in, gave her an odd look.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I have to give them attention," Arashi said as she opened the book and started to stroke the cards affectionately. "Otherwise they feel neglected."

"Ooookay," Aaby said before sitting on her own bed and brushing her hair. "Hey, whatever happened to the black stuffed animal thing?"

"Fenris?" Arashi paused thoughtfully. "Probably with Alex. He's been following her around lately." She sighed. "They do this sometimes. I feel like they're..." she waved her hand vaguely. "Conspiring against me or something."

"Aren't they your guardians?" Aaby asked looking slightly amused.

"That just means they think its their right to do anything they want, as long as they think it's "in my best interests"." She said her voice lowering to a growl as she imitated Fenris' usual style of speech. Aaby laughed and flopped backwards onto the bed.

* * *

--Slytherin Common Room-- 

Alex sat quietly (for once) pretending to read as she eevesdropped on the conversations around her. This was a favourite hobby of hers and had served her well in the past. It seemed to be doing her good right then too.

Right then she was listening to a group of Slytherin boys talking about what most 16 year old boys talk about, namely girls. Their were boasting about their various conquests in The Astronomy Tower. Alex amused herself, listening to their claims and musing that if they were true, half the female (and a certain portion of the male) population of Hogwarts would be walking funny for a week. Soon, however, their conversation turned to girls they had their eyes on.

"...that Japanese student has a rather nice body, I thought," said one of the boys.

"You mean Galewich?" Said another, a black haired boy named Blaise. "She has small breasts." He said dismissivly as Alex's eyebrows shot up. "And she's not Japanese," he added.

"Some men prefer small breasts." Said the first boy. "And anyway, they aren't that small, and she has a cute face. And whatever, she comes from Japan or is half and half or something."

"And a nice arse." Added another boy, who's drawling voice Alex recognised immediately. Draco Malfoy. "Yes, she's quite beautiful..." He trailed off thoughtfully. The boys stared at him for a moment before returning to their original conversation. Malfoy didn't say much after that though, and Alex risked a glance and saw that he was staring off into space. She sighed. Yes, it was true, Arashi had many guardians, but her enemies were multiplying quickly.

* * *

--That Weekend, Hogsmead--

Arashi had spent the day at Hogsmead with the other girls and, after much urging by Aaby and disaproval from Victoria, they went into Cataline's Cornicopia of Costumes.

Various colourful costumes lined the walls and it soon became obvious they weren't the only students with this idea. The store was packed with Hogwarts students all excitedly browsing with their friends.

Never the less, the girls found a promising rack of costumes and began to browse.

"How about this?" Arashi asked, holding up a gauzy green dress. Aaby inspected it but shook her head.

"No, I want to go as something, not just as a lady in a dress." She said busying herself in the rack once more. "Aha!" She said pulling a red outfit of some kind out of the rack. "Perfect!" She said before fighting her way to the checkout. Ginny and Arashi blinked after her.

"Did you see it?" Ginny asked. Arashi shook her head. "Yeah, me either."

As they left the store, Aaby didn't answer any questions about her outfit.

Arashi caught sight of Alex and what looked like a small group of Slytherin girls browsing in a fabric store. Alex waved enthusiastically and Arashi gave a nervous smile. She knew Alex was probably shopping for fabric for her costume and she was starting to feel a bit nervous about it. Alex hadn't told her what she had planned, just that she was excited about it.

Arashi thought that was a bad thing.

They went into one more store, Honeydukes. Arashi had fun sampling the wizarding candy, which was different than the candy they had in Japan. Arashi met up with Xiang Kun again and they talked a bit, slowly becoming wrapped in a world all their own.

Arashi broke off suddenly, in the middle of a conversation and looked around wildly. "Do you feel that?" She said in a paniced voice to Xiang Kun who nodded swiftly. The other students seemed oblvious until the ground under them started shaking. People started to scream as the roof started to fall. Xiang Kun threw himself ontop of Arashi to shield her from the falling debris. Arashi screamed as a particularly large piece hit him on the back.

"It's okay," he said weakly, wincing.

Arashi helped him up as the shaking continued. She held him gently while she focused her aura around them. She felt it, a prescense... of a Dark Card. She quickly left the store, saying an apology to Xiang Kun as she went. When she was outside she summoned her staff and said: "I know you're there! Reveal yourself, Earth Card!"

The ground abruptly stopped rumbling, and a woman who looked similar to the Earth Card appeared from the ground. She gave an evil smile to Arashi, who tightened her grip on her staff. She knew this was going to be difficult. The Earth Card was a powerful card and a simple stroke from the Sword Card wouldn't work this time.

In a flash her two guardians in their true forms were right next to her, giving her confidence.

"The Earth Card, huh?" Artemis said softly.

"Yep," Arashi said while pulling out a card and throwing it in the air.

"WOOD!"

The vines shot forward and bound the Earth Card tightly. Arashi smiled triumphantly. It's just like when I first capture the card, she thought. "And now," she said quietly. "The final attack!" She pulled out another card, but before she could release it she felt something cold and poisonous around her. Her chest tightened and she fell to her knees, in pain, clutching her chest.

"What is it?" Artemis said trying to hide the panic in her voice. Fenris gave a low growl.

"Something's coming!" He barked. Arashi nodded weakly and winced in pain, doubling over.

"Arashi!"

Arashi looked over weakly to see her friends coming out of the store, Ginny supporting Xiang Kun on her shoulders. They ran up to her and Aaby knelt down next to her, on the other side of Artemis, her face very white.

"What's going on? What was that shaking?" She asked hurriedly.

"What in God's name is THAT?" Victoria shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at the bound Earth Card, who was still smiling serenely.

Just then, everything went black.

* * *

Raven: A cliff hanger! Again!

Fenris: I had some good parts.

Alex: Egomaniac.

Raven: Anyway, if you've read this far, do me a favour and please review! Also, I have a website up about this series and if you'd like to check it out, go to my author's page and there's a link there.

Alex: In closing: REVIEW! We like to have our egos stroked! Flames will be fed to Fenris and he will eat them with salt! And maybe some nutmeg! He's a strange one.

Fenris: Yes, review. I, the mighty Fenris command you.


	7. Struggle In The Dark

* * *

Raven: Yikes I haven't updated in a while.

Fenris: Nope.

Alex: We need people to hear my wonderful story! Life itself depends on it!

Fenris: Nope again.

Raven: Special thanks to ferokeroberos and Lizzeh of course. I love all my reviewers!!! Enjoy the chapter!!

* * *

Arashi slumped forward as the darkness took everything over. When she looked up again, she realised she was alone.

"Artemis? Fenris?" She called out, fighting back her fear. "...Xiang Kun?" she called a little nervously. Her cereulean blue eyes darted around nervously, seeing nothing but darkness around her. Her heart beat picked up with incredible speed and her stomach clenched with icy fear. She was alone. It was dark. And so very cold. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Where is everyone?" She asked quietly. She closed her eyes and remembered the cards. The cards were still with her. Still without looking, she pulled a card out and held it carefully in front of her.

"I know what you are," she said to the darkness. Without talking further, she threw the card into the air and hit it with her wand.

"LIGHT!"

The light card burst forth and the darkness around her wavered, showing strange markings, but didn't vanish entirely. 'It's not strong enough!' she realised, her blue eyes widening. 'Come on, Light Card! I know you can do it!' She closed her eyes again and focused her energy, glowing a slight blue. The darkness wavered much more now, but still didn't vanish entirely. 'I believe in you!' The darkness began to fade until...

BANG!

Arashi yelped as the ground under her erupted with green vines, that lifted her in the air and bound her tightly. Her wand slipped from her fingers. "NO!"

The darkness resumed again as the Light Card retreated back into its usual form. Arashi struggled desperately in her binds as the darkness began to envelope her body. The coldness was so much that she could barely breathe. Pain entered her heart as tears began to form in her eyes.

'Someone! Help me!' She pleaded silently as the darkness became smothering. As she thought those words, her jade pendant started glowing a dark green colour and Arashi felt... more confident. She closed her eyes and focused once more, her body glowing a faint blue. Her wand flew up to her hand once more, surging with power. She pulled out a card awkwardly and hit it.

"MOVE!"

Small wings showed on her back for a moment before she vanished completely. She reappeared moments later on the ground, her wand in hand. The vines writhed before focusing on her and shooting forward. Arashi was prepared, however, and pulled out another card.

"SHIELD!"

The vines bounced harmlessly off of the Shield Card. The vines recovered quickly and shot forward again, glowing with a red aura as they did so. Arashi could feel the power radiating off of them. 'I need it to take it's proper form,' she thought, as they struck the Shield Card again, this time causing it to waver slightly. 'I must attack it first,' she pulled out another card.

"ARROW!"

Multiple crystal arrows tore through the vines, causing them to fall harmlessly to the floor, where they dissolved. The card assumed it's true form, looking vaguely like the Wood Card. The Arrow glanced at her mistress, who gave a short nod. More arrows were fired, tearing through the Dark Wood Card like a knife through butter. The Wood vanished, and a card with many holes torn in it fell to the ground after it.

Arashi smiled fondly at The Arrow before returning to business. "Let's try this again." She pulled out her Light Card once again, but before she could even summon it, the darkness vanished.

* * *

A few moments later, Arashi was standing in Hogsmede, outside of the candy store. Her friends blinked in confusion. Everyone else seemed to be recovering, brushing themselves off and returning to their daily hustle and bustle.

"What happened?" Aaby asked.

Artemis and Fenris returned to their temporary forms. Fenris looked at Arashi, with a curious look.

"Wasn't the ground shaking?" Ginny looked back at the ruins of the candy store.

"Are you ok?" Arashi asked, approaching Xiang Kun who gave her a reasurring look.

"I'm fine," he said softly.

Arashi sighed with relief and smiled. "I'm glad. I was... worried about you," she looked down, her cheeks turning red. Xiang Kun simply smiled again and they set to return to Hogwarts, while Arashi explained what had happened.

* * *

Night had fallen once more, and Arashi was suffering from insomnia. She wandered aimlessly in her personal rooms, running her fingers across the spines of dusty old tomes. The silver moonlight streamed into the quiet rooms, leaving cross board patterns on the dark hardwood floors.

She sighed and grew restless. She could use the Sleep Card, but she didn't really want to sleep. She was afraid to admit it, but her dreams were keeping her awake. She just couldn't face another night of tossing and turning. The Dream Card was being overused and, while it was eager to protect its mistress, Arashi just didn't feel right, using it so much.

Feeling incredibally bored and restless, she decided to indulge one of her favourite passtimes and go exploring. She gave the Forbidden Forest a glance and smiled. A few moments later, the portrait swung closed in the silence.

Arashi crept from her rooms and out the front doors. No one could see or hear her, because she didn't want them to. She stepped out into the cold night air and strode across the frost tipped lawns, the forest looming infront of her. She paused at the enterence, considering the dangers of entering the forest. It was a giant focus of magical animals, some of the most dangerous in Britian, after all. But then, she decided, she could just use her Sorceress powers, or even the cards if things got rough.

She used a magic spell to bind a glowing string of blue light to the front doors of Hogwarts and the other end was attatched to her wrist. It would help her find her way back, in case she got lost. It was especially usefull, because only she could see it, so it wouldn't give away her location.

Something about the forest seemed even more magical and mysterious than ever that night. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could feel it. It made her feel a bit nervous. But almost anything made Arashi nervous. She stepped into the forest and began to wander around, searching for something interesting. She paused from time to time, to examine a strange plant or foot print she found on her path. After a few hours of wandering, she came across a strange silvery-blue flower, blooming under the darkness of the canopy of trees. Her curiousity was piqued and she bent down to examine it.

"It's so pretty," she breathed. It was almost glowing.

_That is a moon flower_.A deep voice said in her mind.

Arashi gasped in surprise and stood up suddenly. "Who's there?" She demanded.

_I am._ A tall, dark figure stepped forward. He was most certainly male, with long flowing black hair down to his calves and sharp blue eyes. Where his ears should have been, were two pointed cat ears. He wore noble looking black and gold robes, which matched the large gold wings on his back. A sapphire blue moon jeweled was set in his forehead. Arashi gasped, her eyes widening.

"That's correct," he said quietly, reading her shocked look. "I am a Namir. The head of my clan."

"But... but... you're supposed to be a cat!"

He gave her a disdainful look. "I assume any form I wish. The cat form is just convenient for humans, but for others we are like this."

"Why have you shown yourself to me?"

The Namir sighed. "That is a very long story. Please, accompany me to our camp, and I will explain everything to you."

Arashi looked uncertian.

He gave her a small smile. "It's alright. I am not here to harm you."

And for some reason, Arashi believed him. She nodded.

He held his hand out to her, his face serious once more. "It will be faster if we fly. Do not use your cards. I don't want to attract unwanted attention."

She stared at the hand for a moment before carefully placing her own in it.

He stretched his wings out. "Hold on." Arashi did so, and with a few quick wing beats, they were airborn. They flew quickly, the tree canopies passing them in a blur.

* * *

They finally arrived, after a few minutes of flying. Arashi gasped in awe as she laid eyes on a beautiful, ancient city, that gleamed silver in the moonlight. The Namir flew gently to the ground and dropped Arashi off.

The city was filled with other human-shaped Namirs, all beautiful and all of them gazed at her curiously.

"Wow..." she whispered.

"This way," The Namir lead her into the largest building, which she assumed was a palace of some sort. "My name is Ebon, and I am the king of the Namir. This is our new kingdom. The few people you saw out there is all that remains of our proud, ancient race." He smiled thinly at Arashi's shocked look. "Yes, we are dying out. As your giant friend told you earlier, our race is hunted for it's forehead gems." He sighed. "They are very powerful. They are sold on the blackmarket and used in your wizard wands."

Arashi frowned. "But these days, we just use readily available magical contents, like Unicorn hair and phoenix feathers."

Ebon nodded. "Yes, these days wands containing the Namir gem core are very, very rare. We have done our best to search out wizards in possesion with such wands and... delt with them," he said delicately. "But they still exist. Our numbers have dwindled." His eyes darkened. "You see, lately our kind has been hunted down by a group of wizards calling themselves "Death Eaters."" He spat the name with disgust. "Their leader has gained great power. We believe his son is the reason for this sudden burst of power." Arashi flinched. "Thanatos has great power, more than I've seen since the days of Clow Reed." This time, Arashi gasped. "Yes, that's right," he gave her a sidelong look. "Thanatos' powers rival that of Clow Reed's. We're dying, and only one person can help us."

Arashi gazed up at him. "Harry?" She guessed.

Ebon gave her a stern look. "If it was Harry, why would I bring you here? No, you are the one to save us."

Arashi took a step back. "I... I don't know if I can."

Ebon sighed. "That makes two of us, but we have little choice. Do you know what the jewel in your wand is?"

Arashi clutched her little key, a sapphire blue star twinkled in the light. "I don't know. I found it in Clow-san's vault."

"Yes. That is a Namir gem." Arashi gasped again, looking hurt. "Oh, he didn't steal it. It was a gift, from a king in the past. Clow saved us once, and that gem belonged to the young princess, who had died in an earlier attack. I understand they were quite close."

Arashi suddenly felt very sad. She could almost picture Clow-san sadly taking the gem from a king.

"The gem attatched itself to your staff for a reason. You wield the cards, and you can save us."

Arashi looked at the floor, thinking hard. She already had many things to do, many people to protect. But... she couldn't just say no. What if they died? She looked up, with a determined look shining in her startling blue eyes.

"I'll do it."

* * *

Arashi stumbled back into the castle as the sky slowly turned grey-blue. Her ash black hair was disheveled and dark circles were starting to form under her eyes. She looked paler than usual. She slowly made her way back to her room, but was stopped suddenly by a soft voice:

"Out for a late night stroll, princess?"

Arashi looked over her shoulder and gave the person a muzzy look. He wore Slytherin robes and had blond hair. She frowned at him.

"I don't think it's night anymore." She said before a yawn. "I'm on my way to bed."

The older boy stepped forward. "I could give you a short cut," he said.

"No thank you," she said as politely as she could manage. Something about his eyes bugged her. "You don't even know where I'm going. Do you?"

The boy gave her a look, and she finally saw what had been bothering her about his eyes. There was a carnal hunger in them. "I can guess," he said suggestively. He grabbed her suddenly and before she could speak, his lips were against her's. Her eyes widened in surprise and she let out a muffled squeak. She tried to fight back, but her already tired mind wasn't helping. The boy was strong.

His hand began to move up her shirt... She closed her eyes in dispear.

_...nobody's victim..._

Her eyes snapped open, and narrowed. She glowed a powerful blue and the boy was suddenly, violently thrown back, hitting the stone wall with a sharp crack. Her aura flared.

"I'm really tired, I've had a rough day," she explained in a low voice. "I'm really not in the mood to be molested. You understand, right?"

The boy groaned in pain.

"Good." Her aura died down suddenly and she turned on her heel and resumed walking to her rooms. When she did arrive, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

A few hours later, when the sky had become a light blue, a card floated out of the deck and in a blue flash, the Mirror Card floated over her mistress, smiling fondly. A while later, "Arashi" made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, while Arashi slept peacefully in her bed, for the first time in weeks.

* * *

Raven: I love you all!!! sowwy for the long wait. 

Fenris: There wasn't enough me in that chapter.

Alex: Nope.

Raven: Ahahaha sweatdrop mutters loonies.

Fenris: What was that?

Raven: Nothing!! Um, please review and tell me what you think! It'll make my day!!!


	8. A Plague of Doubt

Raven: Chapter 8 didn't take as long this time! I really like this one!

Alex: I look awesome in this one.

Fenris: I feel neglected.

Raven: All you guys ever do is whine whine whine!

Fenris: I'll show you whiny! -Chases after her-

Alex: Err... on with the show!

Raven: -stops running- OH I almost forgot! This does not belong to me! Everything belongs to JK Rowling and CLAMP! Also, I'd like to thank all my reviewers especially Lizzeh and Ferokeroberos! You guys are the best!

* * *

The days passed in peace. Arashi attended her classes and was pulling off excellent marks, recieving praise from most teachers (except Snape who thought she was an air head). The teachers were often impressed and Dumbledore recieved reports of her excellent academic performance. Even McGonagall gave her words of praise.

Dumbledore toyed with the idea of bumping her up a grade, but decided against it. He didn't want to rush her childhood along.

Arashi had cheered considerably since that night with the Namirs. They had started to tutor her in their special brand of magic which allowed them to alter their appearances and shapes. Arashi took to these lessons well and was learning quickly.

Soon it was October, and the eve before the Halloween masque. The girls remained quiet about their costumes and Arashi hadn't had the nerve to ask Alex what she was planning to make her wear.

After the dinner that night, Arashi said goodbye to her giggling friends, and made her way up to her rooms. She couldn't help but drag her feet, instead of walking lightly as she usually did. She was feeling melancholy. It was the eve of the masque and, while she had had a number of offers from boys to go to the dance with them, she had declined each of them, often feeling guilty for doing so. She had only wanted an offer from one boy. She sighed. She had waited in vain. Xiang Kun never approached her with the subject. They had spoken many times and everytime their conversation was turned towards the subject of the appending masque, something always interrupted them. That something, Arashi realised with a tinge of bitterness, was almost always Anastatia or one of her friends.

The blonde Slytherin had spent a lot of her time flitting around Xiang Kun these days. Her and her little friends. Arashi hated it. She hated that she hated it, too. Anastatia was always laughing and giggling and hanging off of Xiang Kun's every word. After seeing them in the halls earlier tht day, with their arms linked, she began to suspect Xiang Kun had asked Anastatia to the dance.

'Who wouldn't?' she thought sadly. 'She's so pretty. Prettier than me.'

She was fairly close to her rooms when the object of her thoughts appeared in front of her with a shy, nervous smile. He looked paler than usual. Arashi froze and stared at him, surprise and hope shining in her deep blue eyes.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said.

A bit of a silence followed this. Arashi's gaze fell to the floor and she shuffled her feet, tapping her toes on the stone floor.

"Er, I wanted to talk to you earlier, but things got in the way," he grimaced lightly. "it's probably too late but," he paused, took a deep breath and continued in a measured voice. "Would you like to go to the masque with me?" Arashi's head snapped up suddenly, disbelief on her face. Xiang Kun misread the look and shifted his gaze to the window, looking ashamed. "Sorry. I should've known someone had already asked you," Arashi opened her mouth to protest but her voice wasn't cooperating- "I'll just go then." He gave her a sad smile and turned, his shoulders slumped.

Arashi stared at his retreating back, seeing everything she had hoped for walking away. She recovered the use of her vocal coards quickly. "Wait!" She blurted out. He turned, his face flushed.

"Yeah?"

"I-" she stopped, turning red. "I will go with you, Xiang Kun." She said softly, her blue eyes turning even an even darker shade of blue. She looked up to see his face split into a grin.

"Great!" He said, relief pouring off him in waves.

Arashi simply smiled back, feeling that was the only thing she could do without embarassing herself.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow evening, after dinner, ok?"

Arashi nodded, still smiling and still redder than ever.

"Great," Xiang Kun said again. "Um, see you then," he turned away from her again and walked away, this time with a bit of a spring in his step.

Arashi ran all the way back to her room. When she arrived she collapsed on the floor, still slightly red from embarassment and from the run. She held a hand to her heart, which had been pounding in her ears since she had seen Xiang Kun, and grinned like a fool, a faraway look on her face. She felt joyous, more than she had in ages.

"Izzat you, Arashi?" A grumpy, slightly tired sounding voice asked. Fenris flew out into the hall where Arashi sat on the floor, resting her head against the wall.

"Hello Fenris," she greeted in a faraway voice.

Fenris stared at her and shook his head. "You're mental."

"Mmmm." Arashi said in the same distant voice.

"Helloooo Arashi!" Alex bounded up from the portrait to Arashi, with a bundle in her arms. "Your costume is ready!"

Arashi snapped back to reality. "Oh?" She said wearily.

Alex nodded happily. "But I'm not letting you see until tomorrow!" She continued, giggling at the tragic look on Arashi's face.

"But... but... why?" Arashi stuttered.

Alex simply waggled her finger at Arashi and flounced up to her private bedroom, singing cheerfully as she did.

Fenris glowered. "She has something planned," he said darkly.

Arashi nodded in glum agreement. "You're right, but I don't know why you're worried. You don't have to dress up for Halloween."

Fenris perked up. "That's true. You're the only one she could make look rediculous."

Arashi sighed. "Thanks," she said drily.

* * *

-Next Day-

Breakfast finished, and Arashi headed to her next class, Care of Magical Creatures, with her friends close behind. They were all chattering away about the night's dance.

"I can't wait," Victoria gushed. "Have I told you guys that Marcus Dublin asked me to go with him?"

Aaby rolled her eyes. "Only about a million times."

"Well, he did. Anyway, Aaby, who are you going with?"

Aaby turned slightly pink. "Collin Creevy."

Victoria stared at Aaby. Then broke out into a grin. "Really? Awwww," she cooed.

"Who are you going with, Ginny?" Aaby asked hurridly, to change the subject.

Ginny shrugged. "No one."

Victoria turned her attention to Ginny. "How come?"

Ginny shrugged again and became preoccupied with digging around in her bag for something. "Just didn't want to, is all," she said quietly.

The other girls exchanged bemused looks.

"What about you, Ashi?" Aaby asked, while Arashi inwardly winced at the nickname. "A hundred guys must've asked you."

"I bet she's going with that Blaise Zabini. He's so... snoggable." Victoria said before Arashi could answer.

"Er, actually I'm going with Xiang Kun." She said while looking at her feet, hoping the heat on her face wasn't a blush.

The girls suddenly burst into giggles.

"Ha! I knew it!" Victoria said between snorts and giggles. "You fancy him!" For some reason, this set her off again.

Arashi said nothing but dearly hoped Xiang Kun wasn't in ear shot.

"He asked you last night then, did he?" Ginny asked, recovering before the others.

Arashi nodded, still transfixed on her feet.

"He took his sweet time, didn't he?" Aaby observed.

"Er, I think he wanted to ask me earlier it's just whenever we started talking about it he got dragged away by-" she faultered. "Some of his friends," she finished lamely. She could never understand why Xiang Kun put up with Anastatia. She had thought it was because he liked her, but she wasn't so sure. He never spoke words against her, nor did he speak kindly of her. He never spoke of her at all, actually. But the image of their linked arms stuck in her head.

"I'm happy for you," Ginny said, smiling.

Arashi shyly returned the smile and Care of Magical Creatures began.

* * *

The day passed in a blur. The students were all anxious and excited and by last period the tension was near breaking point. Everyone was chatting happily about tonight's events.

"I hear Dumbledore's planning something special," Victoria said as she and the other girls left Charms.

"I know he's planning a grand feast, as usual, but I don't know what else he could do," Aaby said thoughtfully.

"Maybe a best costume contest?" Arashi suggested.

Victoria nodded. "That would be interesting. I'd win, though."

"So modest," Aaby teased.

Arashi bade her friends goodbye again and promised to meet them outside the grand hall just before the dance. She started walking to her rooms again, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She couldn't help but be nervous. She was actually going to a dance with Xiang Kun, and she was going to go dressed in something Alex prepared. Good lord.

"Tadaima," she said as the portrait swung closed. There was a series of thuds greeting this and in a flash a madly grinning Alex was in front of her.

"Good, you're here!" She squealed and grabbed Arashi by the forearm, dragging her up the stairs. "O-k first, you're going to have to shower, then I'm going to do your hair and makeup, then you'll get dressed and then you'll have the greatest night of your life with your new beau."

"I am?" Arashi said weakly.

"Yup! And it's going to be magical, I can feel it!"

"That may just be the regular magic. This is a magical school..." Arashi's words withered under Alex's stern look.

"It will be magical!" She insisted. "Not having a wonderful time is not acceptable! Is that understood?"

Arashi quailed. "Yes?" She answered meekly.

Alex nodded to herself. "Darn right."

Alex ushered her into the large bathroom, that was very similar to the prefect's bathroom.

"Use the rose scented bubbles," Alex commanded as Arashi derobed. "Or maybe you should try the lavender scented ones?" She asked herself. She just shrugged. "Meh. Use some kind of nicely scented bubbles, but be careful of mixing the scents." She shouted over the sound of running water into the large bathtub. She turned and left Arashi to her bath.

Arashi tested some of the knobs on the side and ended up selecting a mix of scents. The result was sweet smelling, with a touch of mint. She eased into the tub and tried to let her worries melt off of her. It didn't work.

After she dried off, she went into her room where Alex was waiting impatiently. She was ushered into a chair in front of a large vanity table. She stared at Alex's reflection in the mirror, while the girl paced around Arashi, examining with a focused look. Finally, she set to work, brushing out her hair until it was sleek and shining. Then she took out her wand and charmed some white blue streaks at the front. She then charmed make up on, frosting her face with the slightest silver white glitter. She repeated the process on her shoulders and the base of her neck. She charmed a light blue eye shadow and a glossy lip coating that also sparkled.

Arashi began to think that she would blind people with all the minature reflective surfaces now stuck on her body.

"O-k," said Alex. "Now for the piece de resistance." She left the room. When she came back, the parcel was in her arms and a glint in her eyes. She pulled something frosty white from the parcel and laid it on the bed. "Now get dressed," she commanded before leaving the room to give Arashi some privacy.

She came back a few minutes later and squealed. Arashi looked breathtaking in her costume. The skirt was short and puffy, due to the ruffled layer underneath that was a soft white. It was attatched to a tight, diamond cut neck bodice that revealed her collar bones and had no back, but was laced up with white ribbons at the back. She wore navy blue dolly shoes, with ruffly knee socks that were a transparent frosted white. The whole outfit was a silky navy blue.

"You look great!" Alex gushed. Arashi blushed a bit, ruining the colour scheme of the rest of her outfit. She noticed Alex had another parcel in her arms. She eyed it nervously.

"What's that for?" She asked.

"These are your accessories," Alex winked and bustled over, opening the package. First she removed a silver chain with diamonds and a large sapphire attatched to the front. She placed it on Arashi's head. The largest tear-shaped diamond dipped down at her temple, perfectly centered with the rest of the chain. Around it were smaller sapphires, all tear shaped.

Next she pulled out a frosted white choker, with a sapphire star dangling from it. She attatched it around Arashi's neck.

Next she pulled out long navy blue gloves that went up past her elboes did not cover her hand, except where it was attatched with a silver ring around her middle finger. They had a silver edge at the top.

Finally, she pulled out a pair of translucent blue butterfly like wings, that sparkled in the light. They had silver swirled designs on them. Arashi stared at them in amazement as Alex attatched them to her back. What really surprised Arashi was how light and realistic the felt and looked.

What a minute. If there's no back to my outift, how the heck did she attatch the wings?' Cautiously, she turned around so that her back was facing the mirror. She craned her neck around and gasped. The wings looked as if they were apart of her back. She started to freak out a little bit when Alex calmed her down by saying "It's ok, it's just magic!"

"It is?" Arashi asked nervously, unable to take her eyes off of her new wings.

"Yup! You don't get freaked out when you use the Fly Card."

"That's different," Arashi said weakly, not sure how it was different. She experimentally gave the wings a flutter. "Can they fly?"

"They feed off of your power, so if you want them to, they can," Alex said.

Arashi then realised that the sky was an orangey red as the sun was setting. It was almost time for the feast, and she realised with a jolt in her stomach, almost time for Xiang Kun to come and pick her up. She started to fidget with her skirt, trying to take her mind off of the vaguely nausaus feeling she had.

"Er, Alex," she said in a rather high voice. "Shouldn't you get dressed too?"

"Oh that's right!" Alex said snapping her fingers. She impassively waved her hand and her costume appeared. She was dressed like a Greek goddess of the sea, with sea shells set in her hair and a silky dress that hugged her cruves, trailed on the ground, and that started off a light sea green at the top but became darker as it went down. She had a gold arm bangles inset with turquoise stones. Her hair was piled elegantly on her head. A light cover of make up was applied. She smiled at Arashi's dumbstruck expression.

"You mean I went through all that and all you have to do is wave your hand?" Arashi asked in disbelief.

"Uh huh!" Alex said before she flounced out of the room, cackling. 'Silly Arashi. You could do anything you wanted. You just need to have more faith in yourself.'

Arashi shook her head at her loony guardian and resumed making herself sick with worry and nervousness. 'What if I trip on his feet? What if he doesn't like my outfit? What if I just dreamed the whole thing?' What if, what if, what if. Arashi resumed fidgeting.

"Do you have the cards and your key?" A familiar gruff voice asked from the door.

Arashi turned to see Fenris frowning at her. She shook her head and went to fetch the cards and her key, and placed them in a secret compartment Alex had designed in the folds of her skirts.

Fenris continued to give her a strange look. "So, that Li boy is taking you to the dance, is he?" He asked calmly.

Arashi nodded and fought down another wave of nasua.

Fenris gave her a hard, searching look. "You trust him?" He asked quietly. Arashi nodded. "You like him?" Arashi nodded again, turning crimson. Fenris sighed. "There's something I should tell you before you get to attatched to him, Arashi."

Arashi stilled. She rarely saw Fenris quite this serious. Usually he was just angry.

"You remember the previous mistress to the cards was Sakura, right?" Arashi nodded again, looking confused.

"Of course I do. I had to defeat her to keep the cards and save my town," Arashi said. Sakura had been amazingly powerful. Arashi had beaten her, but only just. If it hadn't been for her most trusted card, The Watery, she wouldn't have made it.

"Did she ever tell you she was married?"

Arashi frowned in thought. After the fight, Sakura had apologised and they had talked for a while. It turned out they had much in common, including a fondness for a mother they had never known. The only thing that stuck out most in her memory of that discussion was the question...

---flashback---

_"Why did you give up the cards? They miss you so much," Arashi asked. She looked worse for the wear, although Sakura and her nice friend Tomoyo had done their best to clean her up._

_The beautiful woman sitting across from her put down her tea and sighed._

_"I love the cards, Arashi," she said quietly. "I love them very much, but taking care of them just became too high a price," She gave her a sad smile. "You see, if I kept the cards my life would have been prolonged. I would live for centuries."_

_Arashi looked confused. "How is that bad?"_

_"It's bad. I will live, but my family, my husband, my son, my dear friends... they would all die. All I would have is the cards and my guardians," she pointed at the grey haired, bespecticaled young man and the fluffy teddy bear like creature sitting outside, in the backyard with Alex and Fenris. "It wasn't an easy choice," she sounded close to tears. "But I just... I could never leave my husband." The violet haired Tomoyo placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura held her hand and gave her a greatful smile._

_"I... I don't know if I understand," Arashi said slowly. "But I accept that answer."_

_Sakura gave her another sad smile, her emerald eyes shining bright. "You'll understand. One day. Besides, the cards love you. I made sure their new mistress would be kind and gentle although," she laughed. "You weren't exactly gentle tonight. You fought like a tiger."_

_Arashi gave her a weak smile. "Sorry," Sakura waved her apology away._

_"It's fine. I would have done the same," she winked at Arashi who gave her a small grin in return._

---end flashback---

"She did say she had a husband," Arashi said, rising from her memory.

Fenris nodded. "Did she ever mention his name?"

Arashi shook her head. "We were sort of talking about other things."

Fenris sighed, looking deep in thought. "Her husband's name was Syaoran Li." Arashi's eyes widened.

"Are you... serious?"

Fenris nodded. "I'm not entirely certain, but I believe your Xiang Kun is their son.

Arashi sank slowly down onto a chair. "She did say she had a son," she mumbled. She shook herself. "It doesn't matter though, does it? I mean, it's a strange coincidence, but it doesn't really mean anything."

Fenris gave her a sharp look. "Oh, you think so? You don't think that perhaps the only reason this Li boy is showing any interest in you is because you hold the cards?"

Arashi stilled once more. "What are you saying?" She asked quietly.

"I'm saying that Syaoran Li's original goal was to take the cards from Sakura. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he said just as quietly, with a hint of a growl.

"Syaoran and Sakura fell in love!" She said in a trembling voice.

"Don't be a soppy idiot-"

Arashi stood up suddenly, her eyes ice blue. "I'm going," she said coldly and fled the room.

Fenris sighed and dropped slightly.

"That didn't go well at all," Alex observed, stepping into the room. Fenris grunted in response.

"I'm just looking out for her. That kid could be real trouble, and how does she thank me?" Fenris asked angrily.

Alex gave him a sly look. "You know, Arashi is more than capable of looking after herself. I admit that that Li kid does have a whole lot of power, more than I've seen in anyone outside of our mistress, but he's still just second best," She sighed. "Arashi doesn't know this of course. The girl still doesn't know her own strength."

"Where are you going with this?" He asked sounding annoyed.

"It seems to me that you're more worried of seeing Arashi with some boy then you are of her losing the cards," Fenris bristled and took to the air. "I think it's cute," Alex added, clapping her hands together. "You're just worried about her virtue."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

* * *

Arashi sulked, while waiting in front of the portrait. She was angry, but she couldn't help but wonder if Fenris was right. Maybe Xiang Kun was just using her. The very familiar image of Xiang Kun and Anastatia with linked arms rose in her mind. Maybe he loved someone else.

She sniffled and tried to blink back the tears that were forming. She felt worse than ever and considered not going. She was startled from her depressed thoughts by a knock on the portrait.

"Arashi?" Came the familiar voice from outside.

Arashi sprung to her feet and adjusted her dress, without really thinking about it. She felt a bit silly for doing so. Then she began to hesitate. 'Maybe I'll just say I'm sick...'

"Arashi?" Came the voice again, sounding a little worried. "Are you ok?"

Arashi knew she couldn't not go. She had to see this night through, but she wasn't going to be silly either. She would find out tonight what his intentions were. She spoke the password ("Soaring storm") and stepped out.

Xiang Kun was there, dressed up in a fancy tuxeedo complete with cape and a large white mask that covered half of his face. He looked like he was ready to attend the opera. He seemed to stare at her for a while.

"Um?" Said Arashi.

He recovered quickly and gave her a shy smile. She could swear he was red under the mask, but it was hard to tell.

"For you, madam," he said, pulling out a boquet of silver and blue flowers. Arashi gasped. They were the moon flowers she had seen in the forest. She smiled and took them from him.

"Thank you, Xiang Kun," she breathed, wishing her face didn't turn red all the time. "I'll um just go and put these in water," she went back into the portrait, with Xiang Kun behind her.

As she put them into a vase, she noticed how they glowed in the now dark sky. 'Lovely,' she thought. Then she glanced back into the entrance room where Xiang Kun was chatting with Alex. They both looked lovely in the light and Arashi wondered how she could bring herself to pull test on Xiang Kun. It wouldn't be easy, she decided, but it had to be done. She had to be sure.

Her task set ahead of her and her confidence set in placce, she walked back into the entrance room to greet Xiang Kun. And pray she didn't start blushing again.

* * *

Raven: What? That's it? Yes! It's going to be a two parter... maybe even more! The next chapter will have the Halloween dance, don't worry.

Alex: And it will have more of me.

Raven: Um... yes.

Alex: That's all that matters.

Raven: Riiiight. Fenris, would you like to add anything?

Fenris: No.

Alex: He's still sulking.

Fenris: Am not.

Raven: Riiiight. Okies people PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I want to know if you guys are enjoying this! I love feedback! I will give you a foot rub for feedback!

Alex: But she's not desperate.


	9. An Angel's Jealousy

Raven: New chapter! I'm being more timely with these chapters aren't I? Weeee!

Alex: And for those of you who have forgotten here's a recap: The whole school is hyped because of a Halloween dance. Xiang Kun asked Arashi to go to the dance with her and she was very happy yay! I gave her an awesome fairy costume to wear and Fenris spoiled the awesomeness of the moment by planting the seeds of doubt in Arashi's mind and heart.

Fenris: What?

Alex: That's right you fiend! You made her think Xiang Kun was only using her to steal her cards! All because you didn't want her falling in love with some guy!

Fenris: It was more complicated than that!

Alex: So Arashi decides to go to the dance with the Li boy and try and test his devotion to her and that's where we left of.

Raven: Nice recap, Alex. Small note: I got my wires crossed in earlier chapters. I thought a masque was a dance where people are in costume, but that's just a costume ball 0.o. So, I never meant masque. Sorry n.n;;; Special thanks to Ferokeroberos, Lizzeh, and SuperSailorAmethyst for catching those mistakes. I'll be sure to fix them when I have the time n.n;;; Also, Su-su, I'll try to keep the descriptions down this time :)

* * *

Arashi and Xiang Kun walked in awkward silence down to the main room.

"Um I'm planning on meeting Ginny and the others in the front hall. Is that a problem?" Arashi asked carefully.

Xiang Kun gave her a kind smile. "I don't mind. I like your friends." They walked on in silence, both lost in their own thoughts until Xiang Kun broke the silence again. "I hope you liked my gift."

Arashi looked startled. "Oh! I never thanked you, did I?" She blushed. "I love them," she said shyly and then turned brighter red when she realized she had said "love".

Xiang Kun became a bit pink in his cheeks as well. "I'm glad." They walked in silence still. "I like your costume," he said after a few more minutes of silence.

Arashi giggled. "Thank you. Alex made it. I was worried she would put me in something more ridiculous than this, but I think it's very pretty. I like your costume too. Um, Phantom of the Opera, right?"

Xiang Kun grinned beneath his mask. "Indeed," he said in a suave voice. Arashi giggled again, feeling a little silly.

'I need to stop giggling,' she realized. 'Or he'll think I'm an airhead!'

"We're here," Xiang Kun announced.

He and Arashi stepped into the teeming room. Students were chatting and laughing before going into the great hall. A lot of people had linked arms and a few were even doing some pre-dance snogging. Arashi looked to and fro for her friends but couldn't seem to find them until...

"Arashi!" A voice bellowed from across the hall. Arashi's head snapped up to see Aaby standing on something (or possibly someone, it was hard to tell in the crowd) and waving both of her arms like a maniac. Arashi gave Xiang Kun a slightly apologetic smile.

"Yay you're here!" Aaby said when they arrived. She quickly swept Arashi into a crushing hug. "Isn't this great?" She exclaimed as Arashi's face began to turn blue.

"Um, Aaby? Maybe you should let go," Ginny suggested.

"Eh?" Aaby looked confused until she saw the blue-faced, buggy-eyed, Arashi. "Oops," she released Arashi who began to cough and sputter. "Sorry Ashi."

"No problem," Arashi said weakly. Xiang Kun helped her stand up straight again, giving her a slightly concerned look. She smiled in reassurance to him.

"Daijobou?" He asked, speaking Japanese for the first time since they met. She looked slightly surprised, but only at first. Her face broke into a wide smile.

"Hai," she breathed.

"Awww," Victoria said, grinning slightly. "I hate to break up the love birds, but I want to introduce you to my costume." Arashi had to admit that it was lovely. Victoria had gone to great lengths. She was dressed in very extravagant ancient Egyptian style clothing. She wore a cotton white dress that became tight just under her chest and hugged her curves. She was adorned with many golden necklaces and arm bands, which were studded with turquoise and dark blue stones. Unlike the ancient Egyptians, however, she was not bald.

Ginny was dressed as a belly dancer, all in red. She even wore a gauzy veil over her mouth, which was smiling in private amusement.

Aaby, however, was dressed as a pirate. White puffy shirt with a red tunic and brown pants, decorated with an orange shawl tied around her waist and a red bandanna tied around her head. She wore many dangling hoop earrings. She grinned like a maniac. "What do you guys think?" She asked, gesturing to her outfit.

Arashi giggled. "It's nice."

"What about mine?" Victoria demanded.

Arashi looked at her with awe in her eyes. "I love it, Tori. Really."

Victoria was soothed by the sincerity in her voice and eyes. "Thank you," she said smoothing out her dress.

"As soon as Colin and Mark arrive we'll go in," Ginny said to Arashi and Xiang Kun. They chatted among themselves for a while, waving at passing friends.

Xiang Kun, however, was not talking as much. He was watching Arashi closely. She seemed quite... upset about something. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she was a little more nervous around him than usual. The fact that she was normally nervous around him made him feel kind of happy, because it meant she must feel something for him, too. But tonight was different. She almost seemed sad about something. Something was troubling her, he knew it.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly while Aaby and Victoria had run off to greet their dates.

She gave him a insincere smile. "Of course I am!" She exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I be?" She laughed a touch nervously. "Oh looks like we're going in now," she said quickly changing the subject. Xiang Kun sighed but walked arm in arm with her to the great hall.

* * *

In another part of the hall, another masked man waits in the corner. He has attracted a lot of attention from passersby. Many of the girls paused to give him an appreciative look before being shuffled away by their dates. He pays them no mind, however. His eyes are locked on two figures currently entering the Great Hall. One dressed as a fairy in midnight blue, the other a Phantom.

He smirked. Even from this distance he could feel his love's doubt. He followed after them, keeping himself discrete.

* * *

The hall was packed with all sorts of monsters and creatures. A lot of students had gone all out on their costumes and Arashi was left wondering if perhaps Dumbledore did plan a costume contest and she just didn't hear about it.

She angrily snapped herself out of her thoughts. She had to concentrate on the matters at hand. She glanced slyly at Xiang Kun who was staring at the far end of the hall. She followed his gaze to see a stage with some kind of machine set on it Arashi groaned. She recognized it immediately, having seen them so often in Japan.

"What's that?" Ginny asked, craning her neck to see over the crowds and pointing at the stage.

Arashi opened her mouth but before she could speak, someone lept on her from behind, causing her to stumble forward and fall over.

"Hello Alex," Came Arashi's muffled voice.

"Aaaah! Arashi, isn't this great? Dumbledore brought in a magical karaoke machine! We can sing together, like before! I'm going to go sign us up!" Alex squealed and bounced away before Arashi could get a word in edge wise. Xiang Kun helped her up.

"A karaoke machine?" Aaby asked, staring at the machine, her eyes gleaming. "That's _perfect_! I love singing!"

"You sing, Aaby?" Xiang Kun enquired politely as Arashi dusted herself off.

Aaby nodded. "I've been getting lessons since I was 5. They'll pay off tonight. What about you, Tori?"

Victoria looked apprehensively at the contraption. "I think I'll pass," she said carefully.

"You? Pass on a chance to show off?" Aaby gasped and grabbed her chest dramatically. "Has a snowball found its way to hell?"

"Ha ha," Victoria said sarcastically.

"What about you, Gin? Gin?" Aaby stared at her red-haired friend who stared at the machine with a spaced-out look on her face. "Ginevra? Hellooooo?"

Ginny suddenly snapped out of it to look at Aaby. "Mm?" She said. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

Aaby sighed. "Whether or not you're going to sing."

Ginny simply shrugged. Aaby looked as if she was going to press the subject but was distracted when Colin - who was dressed as a werewolf - returned with some drinks.

"I think they're going to start the feast soon," Victoria said. People had begun to file into the smaller tables that could seat about 10 people. The group made their way over to one, where Harry, Hermione and Ron sat. Ginny seemed to hang behind as they approached the table.

"Hi guys," Arashi greeted cheerfully as they took their seats. She noted that Hermione and Ron were sitting quite close and holding hands. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to be going stag. (No pun intended.)

"Konnichiwa," Hermione greeted in an equally cheerful voice. "We haven't seen you guys in a while."

"But we've heard stories," Ron said. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous to go after those card things, Gin?"

Ginny gave him a cold look. "I don't go after them. Arashi does. We just... get caught up in it sometimes."

"She's right," Arashi said quickly. "It's my fault, I'm sorry. I do my best to keep them safe."

That portion of the conversation ended and the group ordered their dinners. Hermione didn't even object to the work the house elves must have gone through to prepare the meal. She and Ron seemed to be quite wrapped up in their own world.

"Er, so Ginny," Harry began awkwardly. "How are things?"

"Fine," She said coldly. Harry winced. He looked as if he was going to say something but decided against it.

Arashi watched the exchange with a frown. She made a note to talk to Ginny later. Her friend seemed kind of down.

:Don't you think you should focus on getting answers from your boy: The voice of Alex cut into her thoughts.

She nodded slightly, but was unsure of how to proceed. She glanced at Xiang Kun and then busied herself with her food.

"So, um, Xiang Kun," she began, trying to sound casual and failing. "Tell me about your family."

Xiang Kun gave her a slightly startled look. He was silent for a while, examining Arashi closely. "My father is the head of the Li clan in China and my mother was the former card mistress, but I'm guessing you already knew that."

Arashi suddenly felt a bit embarassed. She shifted uncomfortably and averted her eyes to her plate, her cheeks reddening. She felt like she should apologize for something.

"It's alright, Arashi," He said quietly so that only they could hear. "I don't know why you're so afraid of me tonight. I'm not going to hurt you in any way," he rested his hand on top of hers, causing her to jump slightly and look him in the eyes. "I promise."

'I want to believe him,' She thought. 'He looks so sincere. How could I doubt him?' A vision of Anastatia and Xiang Kun with linked arms rose in her mind like an iceberg. She stiffened.

"What do you think of Anastatia?" She asked carefully.

Xiang Kun looked genuinely surprised by the question. "She's alright. A little misguided, maybe, but generally nice enough. Why?"

Now it was Arashi's turn to look surprised. "You think she's nice?" She blurted out. "I mean," she blushed again. "She never really struck me as that nice..."

Xiang Kun smiled sadly. "I know. She's a bit mixed up. And you still haven't answered my question..."

Arashi shifted again and looked away. "I just... I once saw you two walking down the hall... with linked arms..."

To her surprise (again) Xiang Kun chuckled.

"It's not funny!' She protested.

"I see. This is what's upsetting you? Anastatia asked me to act like her boyfriend to scare off her unstable ex."

Arashi felt silly. "Oh," she said quietly. "I just thought that you and her..."

He chuckled again and shook his head. "Iie. She's nice and all, but she's not my type.."

Arashi felt strangely encouraged by this piece of news. It meant she still had a chance. She smiled feeling relieved and happy. She also felt a little silly for being so worked up over nothing.

"You've gone quiet. Are you all right?" He asked.

She beamed at him. "Hai!"

* * *

Dinner had finished and the tables were cleared away for the dance floor. Couples started piling onto the floor while music began to play from an unknown source. It was a fast paced song to start people off that night and many of the students got into it, dancing to their heart's content.

Arashi held back. She had never been big on dancing. She was graceful enough but she always felt so self concious on the dance floor. She felt she would die if she had to dance in front of Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun didn't seem to mind. He stayed back with Arashi chatting quietly.

"You don't like dancing much?" He asked curiously, looking a little surprised.

She shook her head and blushed. "No, I'm not much of a dancer. I used to take ballet but..." She shrugged.

Xiang Kun cocked his head to the side. "I thought you were a dancer. You have the build of a one. What happened?"

She smiled shyly and her blush deepened. "Thank you. My ballet teacher said I had some talent, but I just didn't like ballet much. Actually," she glanced around conspiratorially and leaned in close, lowering her voice. "I gave up ballet after my first recital. I tripped over some poor girl's feet and ended up face planting."

They both laughed quietly.

"After that I refused to go back. Threw a temper tantrum and everything," she said through giggles.

"Now that I find hard to believe," Xiang Kun smiled playfully. "I can't imagine you raising your voice high enough to throw a proper temper tantrum."

She giggled. "I managed. It worked anyway."

Just then Alex bounded over, beaming like a loony. "I just signed us up!" She said happily, clapping her hands with joy while Arashi's face drained of colour.

"Why?" She asked weakly.

"It'll be so much fun!" She gushed. "What song should we sing? What's a good song for duets? Oh well, we'll figure it out later!" She giggled again. "Oh look! There's Blaise Zabini! He's pretty, isn't he? I'm off then! Bye bye Arashi!" She flounced away before Arashi could breathe another word.

Arashi turned and gave Xiang Kun a helpless look. "Help me," she pleaded. He chuckled.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "You'll do fine."

Arashi nearly felt herself melt at his words. It was almost criminal the power he already had over her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Xiang Kun realized then that he was smiling like a fool. He had never felt this way before and it was almost frightening.

* * *

Across the hall, a girl in an angel costume watched the happy couple with loathing in her blue eyes. She clenched her fists and glared with all her might.

"Look at them," she spat scornfully to her friend. "He's too good for her. Who does she think she is, anyway?"

Her friend nodded. "I know. She's a bitch and a whore. I heard Draco Malfoy bragging in the common room about how he felt her up."

Anastatia turned to her friend, looking scandalized. "_No_!" She breathed gleefully.

"Yes! I heard it with my own ears."

"That's interesting," she said, her eyes glinting with malice. "Very interesting." She watched the couple and carefully watched Arashi who was laughing at something Xiang Kun had said. "Excuse me," she said suddenly and stalked off in their direction.

* * *

"Shall we dance at the next song?" Xiang Kun asked in his suave "Phantom" voice.

Arashi giggled. "All right. I'll try my best, but I might step on your feet."

"My feet should be so privileged as to be tread upon by a goddess such as yourself," he said, giving a slight bow. Arashi went red. "Oh dear," he said in his normal voice. "Was that laying it on a bit too thick?"

She smiled shyly. "It was nice. Thank you."

He smiled kindly and made a note not to embarass her too much.

Arashi sighed contentedly and wondered how she could ever consider skipping this. Suddenly she was wrenched from Xiang Kun'ssideand before either of them could react was struck sharply across her cheek.

"_How could you?_" A furious sounding voice demanded. When Arashi turned her head to look she found a furious Anastatia standing in front of her, heaving with fury and eyes gleaming unpleasantly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Xiang Kun demanded, as he came to comfort Arashi.

"It's all because of _her_!" Anastatia cried, pointing a trembling finger at Arashi. "She's the reason Draco left me!"

A stunned silence followed this proclamation.

"Ana, I don't think-" Xiang Kun began warily but stopped as Anastatia suddenly burst into tears.

"Ooooh," she moaned. "You're so mean, Galewich! You stole Draco from me. He was bragging about how you and he had sex the other night."

Arashi's eyes widened with shock and her hand flew to her mouth. Xiang Kun looked equally shocked. For a long time, no one spoke. By now their little argument had attracted a fair amount of attention.

"That's a lie," Arashi said hoarsely. She turned to Xiang Kun. "It's a lie!" She insisted. Xiang Kun tore his eyes away from the sobbing Anastatia and looked at her with uncertainty.

By now a few girls had come forward to comfort Anastatia. They shot Arashi dark looks while whispering words of comfort to the stricken girl.

"Please, Xiang Kun!" Arashi pleaded. "It's not true, I swear! Draco did try to do... something to me the other night in the hall, yes, but I fought him off." For the first time since the outburst, Xiang Kun snapped back to reality, his eyes blazing.

"Fought him off?" He repeated sharply. "He forced himself on you?"

Arashi blushed and looked down. She hadn't told anyone about that night. This certainly wasn't the way she wanted to tell Xiang Kun.

"_LIAR!_" Anastatia shrieked, startling the few girls who had been comforting her.

"She's not lying!" Aaby shouted, pushing her way through the crowed with Colinto stand at Arashi's side.

"That's right!" Victoria, with Marcus and Ginny in tow, arrived at the scene.

Arashi looked at Xiang Kun, her eyes silently pleading. He gave her a small nod.

"Ana," he said in a quiet voice, holding Arashi's intensesapphire gaze for a few seconds. "I don't know what drove you to start this but there's no excuse." He said firmly. He turned to look at her. "Please, leave us alone."

She looked very hurt then. The few girls who had been comforting her, backed off at the ferocity of Xiang Kun's forest green eyes. "But... but... Xiang Kun!"

He shook his head in silence and turned his back on her.

Anastatia looked at Xiang Kun's back with an unfocused look in her eyes. She turned and fled suddenly, crying in agony as she went. Xiang Kun sighed sadly.

"She was always a bit mixed up, but I never thought..." he trailed off andbrushed his fingers on the red hand mark on Arashi's pale cheek. "Gomen nasai."

Arashiblushed furiouslyand gave him a small smile. "It's all right."

"O-kay folks, show's over!" A voice bellowed. Alex shooed everyone away and slowly they rejoined the rest of the school who had been dancing away, not noticing what happened although they would hear about it soon enough.

Alex winked at Arashi once before leaving again.

Arashi and Xiang Kun quietly made their way out of the grand hall to recooperate. While they walked away, Xiang Kun had only one thought on his mind: Malfoy would pay.

Little did he realize Fenris, who had been listening through Alex, was thinking the same thing.

* * *

Anastatia ran down the dark halls, the only illumination she had was the silver moonlight from the windows. Tears streaked her face and her wings were disheveled and torn. She tripped over her broken sandals and fell face forward. She lay there for a while, her body shaking with sobs.

How could it have gone so wrong! How could _that bitch _come out of that smelling like roses?

The image of Arashi, her lovely blue eyes brimming with tears and being held by Xiang Kun rose in her mind. She screamed and angrily tore off her wings and flung them to the ground, wishing she could do the same to Arashi.

_Saintly _Arashi. _Beautiful_ Arashi. Powerful, amazing, talented, bloody _perfect_ Arashi! Everyone loved her! It wasn't fair! She clenched her fists. She would show perfect little angelic Arashi for what she _really _was. She giggled quietly in the night. She would tear her down from her pedestal and rip the wings from her back.

"Are you alright?" A soft, lovely male voice asked. Anastatia turned to see a masked man dressed in black.

She said nothing and watched him carefully.

"You want him, don't you? You hunger for him. You want that girl taken out of the picture forever, don't you?" his voice washed over her. She simply nodded slowly. "I can make it happen," he hissed and offered his hand out to her. "Come with me and I'll give you what you want."

She looked up at him, her eyes dry now. She looked lost, like a child. Slowly she raised her hand and placed it in his. In a flash, they were gone.

* * *

Raven: That chapter's over but the Halloween arc isn't yet. Just one more chapter I think.

Alex: That was a crazy chappter. Like whoa.

Fenris: BLARGHLARHGARGHBLARHGKILLMALFOY!

Alex: Fenris is upset.

Raven: He's scaring me. Um anyway please REVIEW! I would love you forever! I'll still give you a foot rub and some pocky!


	10. Resolution, Music and Revenge

**SPECIAL EDIT: This chapter has been edited for content. I had to remove the song lyrics And I've changed a few other things, too. Arashi and Xiang Kun don't kiss, for one thing...**

* * *

Raven: The last chapter was kind of intense so this ones lighter and fluffier.

Alex: Yay! Less sadness!

Raven: Harry Potter and Cardcaptor Sakura belong to JK Rowling and CLAMP. The songs all belong to their rightful owners.

* * *

Arashi and Xiang Kun strolled down the deserted halls, talking quietly and recovering from the previous encounter with Anastatia. Xiang Kun couldn't shake off his feelings of guilt but had finally stopped apologising.

Eventually they stopped in front of a large window, overseeing the lake. They gazed out at the beautiful landscape, ocassionally glancing at one another as well.

"We should probably head back soon," Arashi said after a while.

Xiang Kun nodded, although he was sorry for their alone time to end so quickly. "I suppose," he said.

"After all, I did agree that I'd sing a song with Alex..."

Xiang Kun nodded again, feeling a little gloomy.

"I'm still kind of nervous, though," she blushed. "It's silly but I can't help it. But I promised Alex, so..." she trailed off, staring into Xiang Kun's eyes, blushing madly.

They stayed like that for some time.

Xiang Kun could lose himself in those pools of cerulean. Something inside of him stirred, a warm feeling. '_She's so... amazing. Not like anyone I've ever met-wait a minute! Why am I talking like this? That's so sappy and... wow, her eyes are the most beautiful I've ever seen._'

'_I should tell him how I feel. I should do something smooth and try to kiss him or something. No! What if he thinks I'm strange? What if he doesn't feel the same way? I couldn't take that..._'

"We should er head back," Xiang Kun said, unfreezing the moment. Arashi nodded and reluctantly followed him.

* * *

It was time for the karaoke and Arashi was no where in sight. This upset Alex, but only a little. In revenge against Arashi, she told the house elf in charge to cancel the duo and instead make it two solos. She grinned evilly, knowing Arashi would die of embarassment.

Finally her name was called and she flounced onto stage, amidst cheers and some assorted cat calls. She paused before starting to sing, taking a good look at the crowed.

'_Ahhh,_' she thought. _'This is what I live for._'

And then she started to sing.

* * *

Arashi and Xiang Kun reentered the main hall some time later, to the sound of loud cheers and catcalls. Alex was taking her bows and waving at the crowed. Arashi came up next to Victoria and shouted: "What's going on!"

"Alex just finished singing some Japanese song and it was amazing!" Victoria shouted back over the sounds of the cheers.

'_I guess she just sang without me,_' Arashi thought feeling relieved. She clapped along with the rest and waved at Alex.

:You missed it, kid: Alex thought to her. :I took the house down:

:I'm so happy for you, Alex: Arashi thought. :I'm sorry I missed it but I was kind of upset and Xiang Kun-:

:Say no more, I understand. It's your turn, by the way.:

Arashi blinked. :My turn to do what:

"Would Arashi Galewich please come up to the stage to prepare for her set?" The Head Boy called out, waving around a place card.

Arashi gaped at the stage, colour draining from her face.

"That's you, Arashi," Victoria said, grasping her hand. "Come on!" She began to lead her up to the stage. Arashi shot Xiang Kun a pleading, desperate look. He simply gave her an apologetic smile and a thumbs up.

Victoria dragged Arashi behind the stage, where she met up with a nervous looking Aaby.

"I'm going on after you," She told her. "I think it's a competition."

Arashi made a strangled sound in her throat. The guy from the stage approached her.

"Do you know what you're going to sing?" He asked.

Arashi opened and closed her mouth soundlessly for a while before croaking out "Catch You Catch Me?"

He nodded and walked away. Arashi stared after him in surprise.

"I'm suprised he knew the song," she commented to Aaby.

"He probably doesn't, but all he has to do is tell the machine and it will play what it's told." Aaby said.

Then the guy gestured Arashi onto the stage as the music began. Arashi walked onto the stage, visibly shaking. She looked out to the crowed, and felt her throat dry up and her stomach turn. There were so many people, she couldn't even make out Xiang Kun or the others from the rest.

'_I can't do this!_' She thought, panicing.

:That's stupid: a voice growled in her mind. :You've conquered far worse than this. Suck it up, kid.:

Arashi blinked and glanced upwards. She could just make out a small, dark shape flitting about under the enchanted ceiling. She gave a small smile and the knot in her throat loosened, just in time to start singing.

(She starts to sing Catch You Catch Me)

* * *

Alex watched from the crowed as Arashi sang her way through the song with more confidence than she gave her credit for.

(More CYCM n.n;;)

"Looks like your plan backfired," a cryptic voice near her ear commented. Alex turned her head slightly to see Fenris hovering over her shoulder.

"I thought you were staying behind tonight," she commented lightly.

Fenris gave a small shrug. "I decided to come down and see what the fuss is all about..." he trailed off slowly, catching sight of something in the far ends of the hall. His red eyes narrowed and he gave out a low growl.

"What's up?" Alex asked, giving him a concerned glance.

"It's him," he responded with a growl.

"Who- oh. Malfoy. Yeeeeah." Alex said slowly. "I'll just leave him to you, right?" Fenris grunted in response and took off in his direction.

She grinned to herself and sung along with Arashi under her breath.

(Um even more CYCM )

* * *

Arashi finished to the loud cheers of the room, hardly noticing that the building was trembling with the force of the applause. She smiled foolishly and walked quickly from the stage, feeling incredibally pleased with herself.

A gaping Aaby awaited her again back stage.

"That was... amazing!" She breathed, her eyes wide, enveloping her into a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

A few other contestents came up to her as well, admiration sparkling in their eyes.

"That was so cool!"

"Amazing!"

"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you!"

And other such praises were chorused by them. Arashi blushed and happily thanked them for their kind words. Aaby was soon called out and with a final "good luck" from Arashi, she took to the stage and began singing an upbeat song Arashi didn't recognize.

Her performance was also ended with applause and cheers. Aaby lingered, enjoying the crowd's reaction before stepping off and greeting Arashi yet again.

"Aaby, that was so-" Arashi began but was cut off by the sound of someone screaming outside. Her heart nearly stopped.

She rushed out, fearing the worst and released her staff along the way, just in case. A ring of people were surrounding a small area, staring in shock at whatever was in the center of the clearing. When Arashi got there she saw what the fuss was; Draco Malfoy was on the ground, whimpering in pain while an enraged and glowing Fenris intimidated him from above. Fenris' head snapped up and saw Arashi at the front of the crowd. She made no move to stop him and he took that as encouragement.

"W-w-w-what d-d-d-do yo-y-you want from me!" Draco cried.

"An apology," Fenris growled.

"For what? I didn't do anything to you!" He shrieked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Not to me, you idiot!" Fenris snarled. "To my Mistress!" He jabbed his little arm at Arashi. Draco looked around the ring of people, pleadingly, looking for help. His gaze rested on Arashi, who simply folded her arms and glared. A hand grasped her shoulder and he saw the very scary, angry Xiang Kun behind her. He glared with such force that Fenris almost didn't seem so bad in comparison. Almost.

Finally he mumbled a "sorry".

"Louder," Fenris rumbled.

Draco was nearly in tears with frustration. "I'm sorry!" He shouted.

"For what!" Fenris shouted back.

"For-" he glanced at Arashi briefly and turned to look at the floor angrily. "For trying to force myself on Arashi." He said bitterly.

Fenris nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now get out of my sight," he snapped.

Draco high-tailed it from the hall admist murmurs of amazement. They had never seen the Slytherin Prince take such a fall. Those close to Arashi started to look nervous and edged away.

Fenris turned to see the couple for the first time. He stared hard at Arashi's unflinching sapphire gaze. After a while he spoke: "I'm sorry."

She nodded curtly. "I know."

Fenris grunted in response and flew away without another word.

Arashi smiled and turned to face Xiang Kun, who's glare had subsided and hereturned the smile.

"I knew you'd sing wonderfully," he said.

Arashigave a small smileand blushed. "Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."

They stayedchatted like that for a while, remaining detatched from the real world until Harry came up to them, looking a tad confused. He blushed a bit when he saw them.

"Hey, um..." he began, grabbing their attention. "Have you guys seen Ginny?"

They shook their heads and Arashi looked as if she was about to speak but then the lights went out. Arashi tensed and looked ready to bolt until Xiang Kun gently directed her attention to the stage, where a spot light had come on. Standing on the stage was a beautiful red head.

"Ginny?" Arashi whispered in amazement. "I didn't know she could sing."

Harry stared at her also, his face too dark to make out.

(Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You" went here )

There was a bit of a silence after Ginny finished, but it didn't last long. Soon the whole room erupted with applause.

Arashi was in complete awe and joined in clapping as hard as everyone else. She rushed up with Victoria to congratulate Ginny.

"Gin, that was amazing!" Victoria gushed.

"You never told us you could sing like that!" Aaby said excitedly. "That was sooo cool!"

"Ginny..." Arashi said. "That was... really powerful."

Ginny gave her a sad smile. "Thanks."

* * *

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his messy black hair. Things were far too complicated lately. His green eyes rested on Ginny, who was laughing at something her friends had said and he couldn't help but feel... strange. Full of longing.

"Don't you get it, Ginny?" He muttered. "You can't be with me," he sighed. "I'd just hurt you in the end."

"Shouldn't she get to decide that?" Asked a quiet voice. Harry jumped and spun around to see Arashi staring at him carefully. He relaxed slightly.

"It's really none of your business."

Arashi shrugged. "Ginny's my friend. I don't like seeing my friends get hurt," she took Harry's hands in her own. "You're my friend too, Harry. Please, don't hurt someone you care about just because you're afraid."

Harry coloured. "I'm not afraid! It's more complicated than that!" He exclaimed.

Arashi opened her mouth as if she were going to speak but was cut off by the announcement.

"The votes are in!" Shouted a guy on stage. "And you've chosen Arashi Galewich! Come on up, Miss Galewich!"

Arashi gaped in surprise. She turned to Harry and whispered "I was sure Ginny would win!" Harry just shrugged.

Soon Aaby and Victoria came rushing up to her.

"Come on, Ashi!" Aaby squealed. "Get up on stage!"

A litte dazed, Arashi allowed herself to get steered on stage and greatfully accepted the prize: a gift certificate for all the shops in Hogsmede.

As she smiled shyly and waved to the crowd, she saw Xiang Kun give her the thumbs up. She blushed and grinned like a fool.

Arashi then caught sight of Ginny in the crowd. '_I shouldn't meddle,_' she thought. '_But I probably will anyway. Alex you're such a bad influence on me._'

"Alright!" said the MC. "Arashi, will you do us the honor of singing an encore?"

Arashi nodded hestitantly and cleared her voice as she told the magical machine which song to start playing. An upbeat tune began to play and Arashi began to sing...

(Lyrics for Do As Infinity's Toku Made went here n.n)

More applaus rang through the halls as she finished, joined by assorted cat calls, cheers and whistles.

After that, the teachers dismissed the students and everyone went up to bed. Xiang Kun walked Arashi back to her rooms and they awkwardly said goodnight.

"I-I-I had a good time with you tonight," Arashi said, turning tomato red on cue.

Xiang Kun smiled. "Me too. I'm glad we're friends."

Arashi looked away suddenly, her heart beating painfully in her chest. "Yeah, me too," she said. '_Just friends?_'

"Goodnight," Xiang Kun said and left.

Arashi sighedand climbed inside of her chambers, her head filled with thoughts of Xiang Kun. '_How does he feel about me? I wish I knew..._'

* * *

Raven: Meh I'm not too happy with this chapter 0.o

Alex: It has it's moments.

Fenris: I'll say.

Raven: That's it for the Halloween dance thing so PLEASE REVIEW!

Alex: M&M ice cream rules!

Raven: 0.0 right.


	11. The Grim Future

Raven: WAHOOOOOO! ahem. I've updated.

Alex: Yay!

Fenris: Goody.

Raven: It's been a long time, hasn't it? But I've been sooo busy! Gomen nasai, minna!

Alex: You should be sorry! How were the people supposed to hear of my tales of adventure?

Fenris: They aren't your tales, Alex, they are the kid's tales.

Alex: Bahhh. She's too shy and meek. Not fun!

Raven: By the way, I've done some editing of chapter ten. Basically I edited out XK's and Arashi's kiss because... you'll see :evil laugh:

Alex: Enjoy the show!

* * *

It was a week after the Halloween dance and a lot of things were happening. One was that Arashi had become much more popular since the Halloween dance. Most had seen the fight and sympathized with her, especially those who had been victimised by Anastatia in the past. She was also popular because of her voice. She was stopped a lot these days by people complimenting her singing. The next piece of news was that Anastatia was missing. She had been missing since the night of the dance. A lot of Slytherins were very worried about it, and the staff too. Most of the student body didn't care, but Arashi was a little worried too and Xiang Kun, too.

The news of Quidditch came to Arashi. She and Xiang Kun were sitting next to each other when Aaby flopped down at the table next to them in the Great Hall and told them about try-outs.

"They're happening tomorrow evening, after classes." She said. "You going to try out Ginny?"

Ginny looked thoughtful. "Yes I think I will..." she said slowly. "How about you, Arashi?"

Arashi's face turned a bit pink. "Um, I-"

"Yeah," Victoria butted in. "weren't you telling me about how you used to fly a lot in Japan?"

"I did." She said meekly.

Xiang Kun smiled. "I'm trying out too." He said. "Perhaps you and I could practise a bit after dinner tonight?"

Arashi smiled. "I'd like that."

* * *

After dinner Arashi bundled up and was soon walking briskly into the evening. Xiang Kun was already there by the time she got there, holding two brooms. As Arashi drew nearer she saw that he was holding two broomsticks. One was a shiny dark green with golden thistles and some Chinese characters carved onto the handle. Written just underneith the characters were the words "Jade Dragon". The other was just a regular broomstick that he must've digged out of the shed.

"It's a very special broomstick," he said, reading Arashi's look. "My dad made it. It's one of a kind." he said with a touch of pride in his voice. The broomstick gleamed. It had obviously been well cared for.

"That's so cool!" Arashi exclaimed.

Xiang Kun blushed slightly and handed the green broom to her. "You can use this one," he said.

She held her hands out. "Oh no, I couldn't!" she cried. Xiang Kun drew back, a little confused.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because..." Arashi held her hands carefully over the green broomstick. "This is your broom. You love it so much... the feeling resonates from it." She flinched back suddenly, aware at what she had just said. She blushed. "I'm sorry," she squeaked. "I don't mean to seem like such a... freak." She laughed nervously.

Xiang Kun smiled and shook his head. "I don't think you're a freak," he said simply. '_You seem like a kind and gentle young lady._' he thought, but the words wouldn't escape from his throat. Instead, he held out the other broom hesitantly. "If you're certain you don't want to use the Jade Dragon..."

She nodded happily. "I'm sure."

She mounted the broom and Xiang Kun did the same.

"All right," he said, all business. "We'll start practising with speed and agility."

Arashi nodded, suddenly as serious as Xiang Kun.

They rose into the air, Xiang Kun somewhat more gracefully than Arashi and he started to do laps around the pitch, speeding along. He savoured the feeling of the wind through his hair but then he suddenly realised he left Arashi behind. The gentleman in him was mortified and he was about to slow down when Arashi came speeding up next to him and, after a few seconds, out stripped him. He gaped after her as she turned to look over her shoulder. She winked and stuck her tongue out at him. He coloured slightly and grinned.

"All right," he muttered. "No more Mr Nice Guy." He urged his broomstick forward, going full speed. He slowly caught up to Arashi, who glanced at him in surprise.

"No one's ever been able to keep up with me before!" she shouted over the rushing wind. Xiang Kun grinned.

"Get used to it!" he shouted back, sticking his tongue out. She narrowed her eyes and grinned. They were now neck and neck. "Now let's see how you do with agility!" His broomstick fell in hight suddenly and he went swerving off, dodging around the hoops and through the air with grace that most would admire. Arashi watched him, hovering stationary in the air. Her eyes took in the moves until he came back up to her, grinning.

"Try it," he urged. Arashi was staring at the pitch, her face serious. She nodded at him, her eyes filled with confidence, before zooming off and duplicating his moves exactly, moving quickly and gracefully, like a dancer in the air. It was almost unreal and Xiang Kun watched her with amazement.

She soon returned to him, smiling, her cheeks reddened by the cool wind.

"Not bad," Xiang Kun said smoothly, after recovering from his amazement. Arashi raised her eye brows. "Now, let's see how you do with the actual Quidditch stuff."

They did so. They practised chasing, keeping, and seeking. Arashi did well in all of them, but excelled at chasing. Xiang Kun was speechless by the time they finished.

"I did okay?" she asked nervously, once they had landed on the ground.

Xiang Kun nodded. "You were... amazing. I haven't seen anyone as good as you! You're bound to get the part during the try-outs."

She blushed but was secretly pleased. She had loved Quidditch when she was in Japan, but could never play it as she was too busy with card capturing.

"Thank you," she murmured.

* * *

The next day, in Divinition, Arashi was sitting at a table with Ginny, Aaby and Victoria. Try outs were that night and both Arashi and Ginny were quite nervous, though Ginny barely showed it. She was cool and calm through classes and was now joking with the other girls about Divinition.

"Today we are going to attempt to see the future through scrying." Professor Trelawny said in her airy voice. She explained that scrying was a method of divinition using a crystal bowl full of water.

"It's similar to crystal ball gazing, but more intune for those of you who were born under a water sign. It is also far more accurate and difficult. I would be very surprised if any of you manages to see anything, but we shall try, nonetheless."

Crystal bowls were handed out and filled with water using a spell.

"It seems like a waste of time to me," Aaby muttered, gazing at the water with little effect. Trelawny shh'd her and then the class fell into silence, everyone trying to see into the future.

Arashi gazed at her own bowl for a while. Suddenly the water started to ripple and a wind stirred up from the open window. Arashi's eyes glazed over as images appeared in her bowl.

...images of Hogwarts burning...

...images of Thanatos and his father, Voldemort...

...images of corpses...

...images of Xiang Kun...

...images of Thanatos killing-

"NO! _XIANG KUN_!"

CRASH! The crystal bowl shattered suddenly, water splashing everywhere on the table.

The class was startled from its stupor by Arashi's cry. She was sitting up straight, cerulean eyes now clear and wide. Shards of wet glass settled around her feet and hands, which were balled into fists.

"I can't let that happen! I have to do something!" She stood up suddenly. The class watched her in horrified silence. "I have to save him! I can't let this... I... Xiang Kun..." Her energy suddenly drained from her and she collapsed.

Ginny and the rest rushed to her side.

"I'm going to take her to the Infirmary." Ginny said firmly.

"Er, yes," Trelawny said, breaking the spell of silence on the room. "Yes, that would be... best. Er."

The girls were already taking her out the door. Not a word of protest was spoken over this. After they left, the room erupted in whispers and rumours.

* * *

Ginny had just climbed down from the tower when she met up with an out of breath looking Xiang Kun.

"Is everything alright?" his eyes widened when he saw the limp form of Arashi. "Oh, Arashi..." He genlty took her into his arms, cradling her carefully. "She has to go to the Infirmary, right?" he asked the shocked looking friends. They nodded. "Right," he set off to the Hospital Wing, carrying the shaken Arashi in his arms.

"How did you know?" Ginny asked him when she and the others caught up to him.

Xiang Kun looked uncertain. "I just... had a feeling something bad had just happened to her." He shrugged. "I gave her a pendent a while ago, which connects her to me in some way..." he trailed off, looking down at Arashi fondly. Her long, dark lashes tickled her palecheeks. She looked so peaceful, like an angel.

"What happened, anyway?" he asked quietly.

They told him all they knew, about her sudden outburst and then collapse.

"I see," he said quietly. "She must have seen something that upset her..."

Ginny nodded. "That's what we figure."

Xiang Kun sighed and stared down at Arashi sadly. '_Poor girl,_' he thought. '_She's so gentle. She doesn't deserve all this mess._' He held her tightly. "You guys don't have to come with me, you know." he said outloud.

The girls gave him icy looks. "We're not leaving, mister." Aaby said, waggling her finger in his face. "We care about Arashi, too."

"That's right!" Victoria jumped in. "We're not just staying out here because we want to ditch Divinition, either!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. She then grinned and chuckled.

They went on to the hospital wing, chattering quietly on the way.

* * *

In the hospital wing, Arashi was laid down on a bed and Madam Pompfrey decided to allow Xiang Kun to stay (as she could see from the look in his eyes that he wasn't about to leave) but she shooed the rest of the girls away. She then gave Arashi some potion to wake her up and ease her headache.

Xiang Kun sat at Arashi's side, after Madam Pompfrey bustled off to tend to other patients. A few minutes passed in silence, while Xiang Kun stared down fondly at Arashi's peaceful form. He brushed a few strands of hair from her angelic face, savouring the feeling of her milky soft skin. He blushed slightly as Arashi sighed in her sleep. Her pink lips were slightly parted, looking soft and inviting. She murmured something in her sleep, her rose petal lips capitvating Xiang Kun.

'_What's happening to me? Could I really feel this way for her_?' he thought dazedly.

When he broke away from his thoughts he was startled to see a pair of sapphire eyes staring back at him from a lovely face with a light dusting of pink over her cheeks.

He smiled, hoping he wasn't blushing. "How are you?

Arashi smiled back. "I'm... I'm ok, I think. What happened to me?"

Xiang Kun told her what he knew about her collapsing in Divinition.

"I see." she said when he had finished. "It must have been because of what I saw..." She glanced up to see Xiang Kun looking at her with concern. "I don't remember it, though." She lied.

He nodded and gave her delicate hand a reassuring squeeze. "Get some rest," he said. "You have to be in peak condition for try outs tonight."

Arashi gasped and sat bolt upright. "Oh, you're right! I forgot all about it!" She began fussing, looking very distressed.

"Don't worry," Xiang Kun soothed. "You'll be fine."

She smiled at him greatfully. They continued talking for an hour until Madam Pompfrey shooed them both out. By then it was dinner.

* * *

After dinner, Arashi, Xiang Kun, and Ginny were getting ready to go down to the Quidditch pitch. Arashi was in her private rooms and she had made plans with the others to meet them outside so they could walk down together.

She emerged from her bedroom wearing a blue and silver polo shirt and dark blue jeans. She was just brushing her hair hurriedly when she bumped into Alex.

"Hey, Alex," she said distractedly.

"Hey!" Alex said cheerfully. "I hear you're trying out for Quidditch today!"

Arashi's stomach did a back flip. "Yep," she squeaked.

"Don't worry about it," Alex said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "You'll do great, I'm sure."

Arashi smiled at her shyly. "Thanks."

"But," Alex said firmly. "You need a broom."

Arashi shrugged. "I was just going to use one of the school's."

"_Those_ things?" Alex made a face. "Those things are a disgrace!"

Arashi shrugged again. "I did pretty good with the Cleansweep before."

Alex shook her head. "Nuh uh. You're the card mistress! You're Dumbledore's granddaugther! You're the saviour of the world, for god's sake! You can't go putting around on a _Cleansweep_!"

Arashi sighed. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? It's not like I can go shopping for a broom _now_."

Alex winked. "You don't have to. You could just make your own. Yes, you can. Just use your sorceress powers and envision a lovely broomstick."

Arashi reluctantly did as she said. She imagined a shining, navy blue broomstick with silver bristles and a sleek silver dragon clutching a silver star carved at the handle. The words "Star Catcher" were carved in curly script on the other side of the handle. She opened her eyes then and saw the broomstick in front of her, complete with stirrups. She took it in her hands and it glowed very softly, briefly.

"My own broom," she murmured, running her hands tenderly across the handle. It was hers, in every sense of the word.

* * *

She strode out into the Quidditch pitch a few minutes later. Many people gaped at the sight of her broomstick.

"That's amazing!" a chaser whispered in awe. "I didn't know they were making such cool brooms!"

Arashi blushed. "This is a custom job."

A snotty looking seventh year girl sneered. "I bet it's all shine and no performance. It's probably some shoddy job. You can't trust the shiny models, you know." She said to the assembled group.

Arashi's hands tightened around her broom. "It's not shoddy." she said. "It's very well made," but uncertainty crept into her voice. How could she know if it was well made or not? She never did get a chance to test it properly.

Just then, Harry came onto the field, breaking up the crowd of admirers around Arashi. He strode over to them and began speaking.

"Alright people, let's get started. First, those of you trying out for Chaser positions, line up over there," he gesutured to one end of the field. "Those trying out for beaters, over there." He gestured to the other end. People lined up as he said, both Ginny and Arashi lining up for Chaser.

Xiang Kun, already a member of the team (chaser), stood off to the side with the rest of the established team to watch the try outs.

The beaters went first. Harry released the bludgers and the hopefuls flew around, hitting them at eachother. If someone got hit, they had to drop out of the running. After a while, only two were left. They were both quite talented and Harry gladly awarded them positions as beaters.

Next was the chasers. Arashi got on her broomstick with apprehension. She couldn't help but feel nervous. Ginny gave her an encouraging smile and shot into the air. Arashi soon followed. It was exhilirating, feeling the wind in her hair. The broomstick handled extremely well, adjusting at the slightest touch, but only if Arashi wanted it to. It moved very fast, too, so she soon was ahead of Ginny in the air. She sighed happily and got ready to play. Just then she noticed a few people were in the stands. Arashi reached out with her aura and felt that amung the group was Aaby and Victoria and... yes, that was Alex. The sea green aura was unmistakeable.

They were separated into "teams" of two, as there was only two positions available. Ginny and Arashi were on one team (much to their joy) and the seventh year and some other seventh year were on the other team. Xiang Kun and Ron acted as keepers.

Harry threw the Quaffle into the air and they were off! Arashi dodged expertly around the other fliers. The seventh year girl had the quaffle and it was obvious that she was pretty good.Unfortunatelyshe was hogging the quaffle andnot giving anyone a chance to try using it. She was flying fast towards the goal posts and threw the ball. Arashi intercepted quickly, snatching the quaffle from the air and heading towards the opposite goal posts, the ones Ron was stationed at.

The seventh year boy came charging at her suddenly but she expertly dodged and threw the quaffle to Ginny who was hovering near the goal posts.

"Don't think I won't go easy on you, Ginny!" Ron called out.

"I was just about to say the same thing," Ginny replied and, with some quick moves, scored on the goal post.

The short game continued like this for some time. Ginny and Arashi dominated the field, but only got occasional scores as Ron had vastly improved as a keeper since last year. Xiang Kun was an average keeper, but he did his best and his broom gave him an advantage.

Eventually the game was over and Ginny and Arashi were declared the winners. The stands erupted with cheers (and considering there was only a few people in the stands, it was quite loud) and Ginny and Arashi hugged each other with happiness.

Xiang Kun came over with Harry - although Harry had lost the confidence he had shown earlier - to congratulate the girls.

"I knew you'd get on the team, Arashi," Xiang Kun said, hugging her.

On cue, Arashi turned bright red and said "Th-thank you, Xiang Kun." She peeked over Xiang Kun's shoulder to see Harry awkwardly try to congratulate a slightly blushing Ginny.

'_It's not too late for those two,_' she thought to herself.

"Wanna race?" Xiang Kun asked.

Arashi wished she would stop blushing, and simply smiled in response. Xiang Kun could be so competative when he wanted to be. "Of course," she said. She mounted her broom and Xiang Kun did the same. They started flying around the pitch. A few people lingered behind to cheer them on. Arashi was winning, but Xiang Kun wasn't far behind and was gaining on her.

Soon they were neck and neck. Arashi smirked and urged her broom forward. It glowed a soft blue and to her great surprise, began to pick up vastly in speed. In a matter of seconds she was a blue streak shooting through the air. She lapped Xiang Kun once and finished the race.

She got her broom to stop, and hovered midair. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes wide. "Urk," she said.

Xiang Kun flew over to her, torn between concern and amusement. "Are you alright?"

"Furgle," she said.

The wind suddenly picked up with great force, tearing at their clothes and hair. The air around them thickened and the sky darkened with thick, black clouds. The wind was so strong it caused their broomsticks to tremble and shake midair. Arashi's eyes widened with realization. This was no ordinary wind, she could feel it.

This was a Dark Card.

* * *

Raven: Eh that's kind of a boring chapter 0.o

Alex: I was barely in it!

Fenris: I wasn't in it at all! Wait that's not a bad thing.

Raven: Shut up! I worked hard! And there was more but it was getting too long as it was! The next chapter will be posted reeeeal soon I promise! Thanks to my reviewers and Chantal my beta!

Alex: It's good to be back!


	12. Fight and Fae

Raven: Next chappie! whooo!

Alex: Hopefully I'm in this one

Fenris: Oh someone's flamed you Raven.

Raven: Yah I know. It's too bad :(

Alex: Yeah! Plus we WARNED you that the kid was a Mary Sue at the begining of the story!

Raven:Sweatdrop:Calm down Alex!

Alex: Fine fine. Harry Potter and Cardcaptor Sakura belong to JK Rowling and CLAMP. We own nooooothing!

* * *

She looked over to Xiang Kun who was giving the wind a curious look. He glanced back at her and shouted over the roar of the wind, "It's a card!"

"I know!" She shouted back. "We need to get out of the air!"

They both attempted to fly to the ground, but it was difficult as the wind forced them in the air. Xiang Kun focused his energy and his broom glowed hunter green, and he moved through the air carefully and got onto the ground easily. Arashi attempted to do the same, but before she could start moving shots of light tore through the air. One of them struck Arashi and she shrieked.

"It's the Arrow and Windy cards!" She screamed. In the distance, she could almost see a small yellowish figure on top of Hogwarts, taking aim...

She urged her broom forward again but just then another volly of shots fired through the air and struck her broomstick. It bucked and surged with energy, flinging Arashi around. Rain began to pour out of the sky and thunder rumbled. Another group of arrows shot out and struck the broom again, alighting the bristles. Xiang Kun was shouting something at her as he tried to get airborne again. As he mounted his broom, vines shot out of the ground and bound him tightly.

'_That's impossible!_'Arashi thought. '_I destroyed the Dark Wood Card! How can it attack him?_'

Her broom gave one last shudder and dropped from the sky like a stone. Arashi shrieked as the ground came rushing up to meet her. '_No! Don't panic now! Pull yourself together!_' She thought.

"KEY OF THE STARS COME TO MY AID! RELEASE!"

In a flash of blue light, Arashi held her staff in one hand. She pulled out a card.

"FLOAT!"

She floated safely to the ground, much to her relief. Her relief was short lived, as Xiang Kun's scream tore through the air.

"Xiang Kun!" She ran over to him at top speed but tripped, as a vine shot from the ground and around her ankle, twisting it painfully in the fall. Arashi bit her lip in pain and looked through the rain at Xiang Kun...  
Who was no longer struggling.

Arashi picked herself up again and tore her ankle free from the vine's grasp. She ran up to Xiang Kun's limp form. His eyes were open, but it was clear that the vines were trying to squeeze the life out of him.

"SWORD!"

She sliced the vines off and tried to catch Xiang Kun as he fell, but ended up falling to the ground, with him on top. He was unconscious now. She attempted to push him off, but saw that the Dark Arrow card was looming over her. It smirked and took aim... And stopped, its eyes widening. There was a large hole in its abdomen. Arashi looked down and saw a crystal arrow fade away.

The Dark Arrow card returned to it's card state, with a large hole in the center of the card. Behind her stood the triumphant ivory figure of Artemis.

"Mistress, are you alright?" Artemis asked, rushing forward.

She smiled painfully. "I'm ok. Where are the others?"

Artemis nodded towards a huddled group behind the bleachers, where Fenris in his true form stood guard. Arashi sighed in relief. Artemis helped pull Xiang Kun off, and the he started to wake up.

Arashi got herself to her feet, wincing in pain. She had gotten bruised and beaten pretty badly. She didn't notice as light gathered in the sky. Thunder cracked, this time sounding much closer. She looked up and saw the lighting just in time. She jumped out of the way, as the jagged light struck the wet ground, causing sparks.

'_Another card? It just doesn't end!_' She thought.

The Dark Thunder card formed, roaring. It charged forward and struck her this time, full in the chest. She fell back and before she could recover, the vines reappeared, tying her to the ground. She screamed.

Artemis and Fenris charged forward but were rebounded by a dark circle, The Dark Shield card. They fought uselessly against the forcefield.

"Awww, looks like the widdle ickle princess is in a bit of a pickle," a sugary sweet female voice said. Three figures materialized in front of her. One was a curvy woman with floor length blue-black hair and blue-black leathery wings. Another was a reptilian-like creature with blood red scales, golden eyes, and red leathery wings. In the center of those two was Thanatos.

Arashi tried not to show her fear. She swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes, forcing her voice not to tremble.  
"What do you want?"

Thanatos smirked and pointed his staff so that it was inches from her face. "You know what I want. I want you." He said simply.

"Too bad," Arashi said, but a tremor of fear snuck into her voice. The female, Midnight, held her staff in her long nailed hands.

"This is like a child's toy," she remarked. "It's so cute. Does it light up and make fun sounds too?"

"How can the Dark Wood Card still be alive? I destroyed it," Arashi said, ignoring her.

Thanatos smiled and his staff glowed. Arashi was almost suffocated by the strength of his energy. "I just remade it. It was easy." His eyes started to glow and his magic circle appeared under Arashi. She could feel it's poison-like energy inside of her. He began to chant.

"_Dark spirits of the night, I call upon you to grant me my fondest wish. Take this pure maiden and taint her, fill her with your energy, with your hate..._"

Arashi struggled and screamed. She could feel herself slip away and fill with pain and anger. Her whole body shuddered, and her heart was filled with hate and anguish.

'_Xiang Kun was just using me,_' she thought as her heart went cold. '_He doesn't like me. My father didn't like me. He left me... he's happy to be catatonic than be with me... no one could ever like me..._' Her body went cold and her struggles ceased. Her eyes glazed over and the shining warmth began to vanish. '_No one loves me. I'm alone... The only person who could ever love me is... Thanatos._' The jade pendant around her neck glowed.

"Arashi!"

Someone was calling for her. She could just hear it...

"ARASHIIII!"

"Xiang Kun...?" She said, her eyes still glazed over. Thanatos jerked back in surprise.

"What?" He said. He turned around just in time to see his Shield Card get cleaved in half by a sodden, bruised and furious Xiang Kun. His hunter green aura was tinged with gold and pulsated around him like flames. He held his family sword in hand. Fenris and Artemis stood behind him, their auras of red and light blue (respectively) glowing pure and clear.

Thanatos' eyes narrowed. "Keep them busy. Don't let them interfere with this spell." The two guardians nodded and smirked. "Windy can help." As he said that, the wind began to kick up again. The two guardians charged forward, urged on by the power of the Dark Windy card. Thanatos turned back to his prisoner, who was still twitching on the wet ground, her eyes empty. The magic circle under her began to coil tendrils on her skin, leaving black marks behind them. Thanatos smiled.

"Soon," he breathed. "Soon you and I will be together at last."

"NO!" Xiang Kun screamed. He tried to slash at Thanatos but his sword was reflected by a strange energy. His body was suddenly lifted by the furious winds and launched into the air.

Artemis was losing her battle fast. Her mistress was being weakened by whatever Thanatos was doing to her, and so Artemis was weakened. Midnight struck her with a dark shot of energy. Artemis was flung to the ground, and Midnight stood over her beaten and bleeding body, gloating.

Harry and Ginny rushed out from behind the stands where the rest was huddled. Ginny was the first to attack, aiming directly at Thanatos. It didn't get past his shield of dark energy. Harry tried and received the same results. Thanatos glanced over at them and rolled his eyes. He flung a dark bolt of energy at them, which knocked Ginny down but only caused Harry to flinch. Confused, Thanatos sent another stronger bolt. Harry staggered back but did not fall.

Now Thanatos was annoyed. He saw Harry's scar and smirked. He flicked his wrist and suddenly the Dark Thunder card materialized in front of him. It roared and charged, striking Harry full in the chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him sprawling to the ground.

Deep inside, Arashi saw this and fought. 'Everyone's in trouble! I have to help them!' But the darkness wouldn't listen. She was cold and empty... only a small light left in her soul, something that still glittered in her dull blue eyes.

_'Fight back..._' She heard someone say. A very familiar voice, someone she heard a long time ago. '_Fight back... you have it in you to fight back._'

"Fight... back..." She whispered. Thanatos scowled.

"There's no point. Give into me. I promise I'll treat you like a goddess. You'll have power beyond your dreams and everyone will love you as my queen. They will have no choice."

"No..." She muttered. "You can't... force people... to love you..."

'_Fight back, Arashi_.' Said the voice. A female voice.

'_Ara-chan! Don't listen to him! You are loved!_' A voice inside of her told her. A very, very familiar voice. One she'd heard on almost a daily basis.

"Father...?" Warmth suddenly flooded her body, and she was surrounded by an ethereal glow. Her eyes fluttered shut and the vines withered and vanished. She floated up, the glow almost blinding now. Thanatos stumbled back.

"No!" He screamed.

Arashi opened her eyes and a final blast of blue light tinged with silver completely enveloped the area. The Dark Cards in the area were destroyed, and the two Dark Guardians were badly wounded. Xiang Kun began to fall to the ground but used his element wind spell to cushion his fall. Everyone, including Harry and Ginny, were instantly healed by the warm, soft light. Thanatos and his guardians vanished, cursing.

When it vanished, Arashi fell to the ground. Xiang Kun ran to her side and cradled her broken body in his arms. The light around her was gone and her eyes were closed. She was deathly pale and still badly cut up and bruised. Her clothes were soaked through and she was ice cold.

The others soon crowded around them in concern.

"Is she ok?" Aaby asked.

Xiang Kun shook his head but didn't reply. She was so cold and still.

"She's breathing, so she's still alive." Ginny said.

Aaby and Victoria sighed in relief. Their faces were ashen and tear streaked. This had been an upsetting ordeal for them.

Artemis and Fenris came over. Artemis was holding Arashi's staff and Fenris had found her broomstick. He dropped it on the ground.

"I can't feel her," Artemis said. "It's like she's gone a million miles away."

Fenris gave Arashi a dark look and stared up at the sky. The storm had stopped and the clouds were clearing, showing cold silver stars hanging in the dark velvet night. "I think perhaps she has." He said.

* * *

The sky was filled with stars. That was the first thing Arashi saw when she woke up. The air around her was warm and sweetly scented of flowers. She was lying on a grassy ground. She could feel a soft summer breeze ruffle her hair and cool her skin and she could hear the rustle of trees. Fireflies danced in the air around her and the distance she could hear faint angelicsinging.

She sat up and saw that she was no longer in her robes, but in a soft white silk dress with shimmering fabric. It hung loosely off of her small shoulders. She reached up and felt a tiara of silver and diamonds in her hair. Around her neck danlged the familiar jade pendent, but it looked almost iridescent white in the moonlight.

She was sitting on a grassy hill. Below her were fields of green and a forest could be seen in the distance. In the very far distance, lights of some kind of crystal-like city gleamed in the night.

There were people around her. They were all dressed in soft, ornate looking robes and each had long hair and... Arashi gasped softly. Their ears were pointed.

"Greetings, mistress," one said, bowing low.

"Where am I?" Arashi asked. Her heart sank suddenly. "Oh no... Have I died?"

They chuckled softly.

"No, mistress, you are not dead. You are in the relm of the Fae." One said.

Arashi's eyes widened. "I... Am?" She recovered herself. "But how? I mean... Why?"

"Because you belong here," one said firmly.

"What do you mean?" Arashi asked uncertainly.

Wordlessly, the group parted and another figure strode up. It was her father.

"Daddy...?" Arashi's eyes filled with tears and her face broke out into a smile. "Dad!" She lept forward and wrapped her thin arms around her father, sobbing happily. He hugged her back and stroked her hair. She broke away suddenly. "Wait, why are you here? What is this place?"

Her father sighed and looked up at the stars. "Where to begin... I'll start at the begining, I guess. A long time ago, the Fae relm was at war witha clan of demons. The beauty you see today was torn apart back then by the ravages of war. The war got so bad that the Fae royal family had to be smuggled out of Faerie Land and into a neutral zone: Earth. That family took upon the last name ofGalewich and have been living there ever since." Arashi gasped. "The original royal family are still alive today, for the most part. Your grandfather was the king here and I was just a baby when we left. It was only recently that the war ended, and now they want me to return and reclaim the throne."

Arashi took all this in stunned silence. "Does that mean you're staying?"

Her father looked sad. "Only part of the time. Half of the year I will spend here and the other half I'll spend on Earth."

"That's not fair! Shouldn't grandpa take over?"

Her father shook his head. "No, you should know better than that, Ara-chan. The Earth and Hogwarts need Albus more than they need me."

"But- but-" she protested, her eyes filling with tears. "I need you too!"

Her father sighed and hugged her again. "I know," he said sadly. "But my place is here. I'll still see you half of the year." He sighed. "I need you to be strong for me, like I know you can be. Can you do this for me?"

Arashi sighed and pulled away. "I can." She said quietly.

"I'm so proud of you... My sweet little girl." They embraced again and Arashi relaxed slightly.

"So..." She said slowly once they broke apart. "Does this mean I'm part fae? And... A princess?"

Her father smiled. "Yes, you are half Fae and you are considered to be a princess."

"Do I get wings too?" Arashi asked hopefully. Her father chuckled.

"In time, you will discover your wings. Your Fae powers have just awoken in full force. Let me explain," he said, seeing Arashi's confused look. "Before the power had always been inside you, remaining only partly dormant. Your sorceress abilities caused it to awaken a little bit. That was what caused your empathy and your precognition. But now, it seems as though your abilities as a sorceress and your Fae abilities have combined and made you... rather powerful. For example, you can use telepathy, empathy, demension walking, teleportation, telekinesis, healing, the ability to weave illusions, and Celestial Magick."

Arashi stared wide eyed. "Really?" She said weakly. "What's Celestial Magick?"

"A very rare and powerful ability, even amongst us. We're not entirely certain what it is, but I think you used it when you fought back against the spell Thanatos was weaving. All we know is that it's very powerful and unpredictable, as it seems to be linked with emotions. " Her father smiled kindly. "And now I think it's time for you to go. You still have a long journey ahead of you, Ara-chan, and many people waiting for you."

Arashi could feel her body begin to float into the air. She her father's hands as she flew. "Wait! When will I see you again?"

"I'll be with you for summer vacation, I promise." He said.

"I'll miss you," she said. Her slender hands began to slip from his large ones.

"I'm with you, Ara-chan. I'm always with you." He said. Her hands slipped completely away and the stars blurred around her.

* * *

Raven: Thats enough for now . 

Alex: That was fun! except for the part where I nearly DIED!

Raven:sweatdrop: Sorry?

Fenris: i didn't get lines again.

Raven: Sorry again?

Alex: Oh well. READ AND REVIEW GUYS!

Raven: Thanks to my reviewers so far! I love you guys! Your words of encouragement keep me going!


	13. Memories of Mother

**Raven:** The last chapter was so action packed and this one isn't.

**Alex:** No it's sloooow.

**Fenris:** And there's no violence.

**Raven:** ok there's more to stories than violence.

**Fenris: **Yeah but that stuff isn't interesting.

**Raven:** You scare me. Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers and my beta. CCS and HP don't belong to me! I only own Arashi, Xiang Kun, Alex, Fenris and the plot!

* * *

Xiang Kun, Harry, Ginny, Victoria, Aaby and the two guardians all came rushing into the hospital wing, much to Mdm. Pomfrey's surprise. 

"What are you all doing here?" She demanded. She saw the unconscious form of Arashi, cradled in Xiang Kun's arms. She gasped in shock. "Get that young lady onto a bed right now, and I'll take a look at her."

Xiang Kun nodded and did so. He gently placed her onto one of the white hospital beds, while everyone else hovered nervously nearby.

The matron examined Arashi in silence, clucking under her breath occasionally. She did this for a while, and then fed her a small smoking potion and cast a charm on her. She shook her head at the group.

"Physically she's been rather badly beaten up. Mentally... well... she's rather drained. I'm not sure what happened, but it's as if she's not even there." She sighed. "You can stay for a few minutes but then I want you all out!" And she walked away into her chambers.

The group looked glumly at Arashi's beaten form.

"What if she gets attacked by one of those card things?" Victoria asked nervously.

Artemis shook her head. "She won't. The cards can't enter Hogwarts. There are too many ancient protection spells over this place."

Xiang Kun said nothing. He brushed a few strands of sable hair from Arashi's peaceful face and sighed.

"There's nothing we can do," Harry said quietly, trying to sooth the tormented young man. His arms were around Ginny, who's face was dark with worry and fear. She held onto him, allowing the warmth to calm her.

They all stood in silence for a while, each looking preoccupied with worry, but Xiang Kun looking worse than all of the rest. His face was drawn with tension and pain, his mouth pressed thin and his eyes dark with worry and fear. He held one of her small, pale hands in his own, trying to massage some warmth back into her cold body.

'_What if she doesn't come back?_' He thought. '_What if she can't find her way back?_' His eyes narrowed and his grip on her delicate hand tightened. '_No. That can't happen. I won't let it._' He lowered his head and brought her hand to her breast, covering her heart, feeling the weak heartbeat that was there. '_Arashi, I won't let it end like this. I _will_ find you, if I have to._'

For a heartstopping moment, Xiang Kun thought he felt the lifeless hand give his a soft squeeze.

"All right!" Mdm. Pompfrey shouted, bustling back into the room. "Get out, she needs her space!"

Reluctantly, they filed from the room in silence. Xiang Kun lingered for a moment staring hard at her. Artemis placed her hand on his shoulder and ushered him silently from the room.

A moment later Arashi's jade pendant began to glow a soft green.

* * *

Darkness surrounded Arashi, and she didn't know why. She was still reeling from seeing her father, and finding out about her heritage. 

'_Me! A princess! I would never have thought..._'

The darkness suddenly lightened and gained shape and texture. The blankness around her changed and warped into another forest. Unlike the last forest, this one was not softly lit by the moon and stars and glow bugs, but it was harshly lit by the full moon in the sky cold sky. The trees jutted into the skyline and dominated the area around her. There was nothing else.

Arashi shivered in her silk white dress. The air was cold and the night forboding. But there was something else...

Something rustled in the bushes. Arashi jumped. Nothing happened for a long time. There was no sound, except for her breathing and her hurried heartbeat. She tentitavely approached the now-still bushes.

"Hello...?" She said softly.

A soft growl answered her. Arashi's eyes widened and she took several steps back. A _thing_ emerged from the bushes. It was large and dark, and it's eyes glowed red in the night. It was like something from a nightmare. Arashi took several steps back and clutched her necklace, only to discover the familiar feel of her key to be missing. Her eyes widened.

The creature wasted no time and lept forward. Arashi threw her arms out in front of her out of instinct and her eyes squeezed shut. She opened them in time to see the creature leap _through_ her, as if it were a shadow or a ghost and land lightly on the other side. Arashi looked down, but saw no damage. She recovered quickly and whirled around, to see the creature not staring at her, but at another figure just behind her.

It was a man. Very regal and serious looking, with black hair and hazel eyes. Arashi gasped. _It was her father! _But much, much younger than the man she had just met. He must've been in his late teens. He drew the bow strapped to his back and pointed it straight at the monster. It didn't flinch away.

They stayed like that for what seemed like ages, their gazes locked. Finally, the silence was broken by the monster. It howled once, and began to writhe. It was changing, Arashi realized in shock.

In a matter of moments, the monster was replaced with a stunningly beautiful woman. Her long black hair flowed down to her knees and her eyes were like fine sapphires. Her skin was pale and her cherry red lips parted slightly. She wore leather pants and a black halter top. A silver dagger was strapped to her curvy waist. Arashi had never seen someone so beautiful and judging by the stunned look on her father's face, neither had he.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a strong, commanding voice. Her father gaped. The woman's eyes narrowed. "Answer!"

"I-I-I," he stuttered, his face red. "I was simply um exploring the forest. I w-was not expecting to find... someone like you." He spoke with a touch of wonder in his voice.

The woman gave him a suspicious look. "You are of the Gentry," she accused. "How dare you enter these forests."

He took several steps back. "I did not mean to offend. I was simply curious. I meant no harm." The woman seemed soothed by these words, but the hard look on her face didn't entirely fade. "I must say, I didn't expect to find a youkai in these areas."

The woman shrugged.

The man held out his hand in greeting. "I am Orion. Orion Galewich." The woman eyed his hand suspiciously. She accepted it tensely.

"I am Suzaku."

The man lingered a moment, perhaps waiting for a last name but when none came, he released her long nailed hand and smiled warmly.

Arashi felt winded. Suzaku... that was her _mother's_ name.

She was so preoccupied, she didn't notice the soft glow of her jade pendent, until it became brighter and the scene around her faded into darkness.

* * *

Arashi woke to the sound of a door closing and muffled foot steps walking down a hall. She lay in white linen sheets in silence. She examined her surroundings, and discovered she was in the hospital wing. The sky was still dark, so it couldn't have been too long since she passed out. 

Could it? She wasn't sure. She still felt drained though, but her mind was restless. It whirred with questions.

Had she really just seen her mother? Was that the first time her parents met? It must've been...

'_I can't believe that horrible creature was my mother..._'

**

* * *

**

****

-Next Morning-

Arashi hadn't slept well. Her mind couldn't rest and every time she tried to fall to sleep, she would begin to think of the beautiful woman and the beastly creature. It was difficult to accept that both of those things could be her mother. Especially the creature. She could still see its eyes when she closed her eyes.

And there was more. She was a princess. Her father wouldn't see her for half of a year. And, worst of all, she had endangered the lives of her friends, just by going to the school.

That was what was currently nagging at her. Thanatos would come again, and once more her friends' lives would be on the line. She hadn't been strong enough to protect them. Artemis, Fenris, Harry, Ginny, Aaby, Victoria and... Xiang Kun. They all suffered, because of her. Guilt preyed on her emotional heart.

She sat up in bed, looking worn and tired, heavy bags under her eyes. Mdm. Pompfrey bustled in and fussed around her, chastisizing her for being reckless and so on. Arashi wasn't really listening. Whatever Pompfrey was saying, she had already gone over a million times in her own head.

What could she do? She could leave. It was a terrible prospect, but one she had to consider. She was becoming too powerful, and she was attracting dangerous attention. Maybe she could pack her things, take her guardians and hit the road. She would never return to Hogwarts. She would never see Xiang Kun again.

The moment she thought about that, was the moment she knew she couldn't leave. She had to stay. Besides, she was brought here to protect Hogwarts. Abandoning it would be cowardly.

...Right?

Just then, her friends came in, their arms full of gifts.They entered the hospital wing with some sadness, which seemed tomeltaway when they saw Arashi awake and sitting up. Much to Mdm. Pompfrey's dissapproval, the large group crowded around her bed, chattering noisily. She was about to voice her objection, but stopped when she saw how it affected her patient. Arashi's eyes, which had been a lifeless grey-blue, were now a sparkling, bright blue. She shook her head ruefully and left to tend to other things.

"We're so glad you're awake, Arashi!" Aaby gushed, with a tearful Victoria at her side.

"Yeah, you gave us quite a scare last night," Ginny added, setting down some chocolate frogs on her bedside table.

Arashi gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

Alex waved her hand. "I knew you'd pull through, kiddo. You're a fighter."

Arashi giggled. She was feeling unusually giddy. After a long, restless night of torturing herself, it was nice to hear the sound of her friends' voices again.

"We brought you gifts," Ron said pointing to the now over burdoned bedside table. Arashi was mildly surprised both Ron and Hermione came, but she didn't object.

"I saw," Arashi said. "Where did you get so many in such short notice?"

"Oh, they're not all ours. Once news spread, a lot of people wanted to send you something." Ron explained.

"I think you may have some admirerers," Ginny said slyly. Arashi blushed. She picked up a peice of paper and quickly changed the subject.

"Who's this from?" She asked.

"Dean Thomas," Hermione answered. "I think he drew you a picture."

Arashi unfolded it and lo and behold, it was a picture. A beautifully drawn picture of a black panther. Arashi gasped. "Oh, it's beautiful. How thoughtful of him." Unseen by her, Xiang Kun frowned.

Fenris sneered. "It's just a doodle of a beast." Alex rolled her eyes and swatted at him, who dodged easily and stuck his tongue out at her. "OH YOU LITTLE MONSTER!" She fumed, now fully swatting at him with a fan. (where'd she get it? Who knows...)

They all laughed. While they were distracted by the fight, Xiang Kun edged closer and started to speak.

"Er, I have something for you," he said, handing her a blue envelope.

"Thank you," she said, blushing as usual. She took it and carefully opened it. Inside was a letter with pink handwriting. This is what it said:

_Dear Arashi-chan_

_Hi! It's me, Sakura! Remember me? You should, considering the huge event we went through together. My side still aches in the rain because of you ha ha. (Stop fretting, I'm just kidding.)_

_Xiang Kun told me in his latest letter that your father is in the hospital. I was deeply saddened to hear that especially with the holidays coming up. I believe no one should spend the holidays alone. So I came up with a solution: you come down to Tomoeda to spend Christmas vacation with Xiang Kun and his lovely family! _

_And you can't say no. I want this and I know you don't want to spend the holidays in some stuffy castle alone. Besides, everyone's really excited to meet you (we've heard so much about you in Xiang Kun's letters but they're not the same). Nakaru is really excited to see Alex again (and of course she's invited! So is Fenris!) I can't wait to see you again either. And the cards! I miss them. Enclosed is a first class plane ticket and don't bother repaying me for it. It's a gift!_

_Oh and don't worry about getting us gifts just yet. The kids and Eriol usually go to Tokyo for some last minute Christmas shopping. It's tradition!_

_I guess I'll see you in a few weeks. Until then!_

_-Sakura Li_

_P.S. Say "hi" to the cards for me!_

_P.P.S. It was Xiang Kun's idea to invite you. He's such a thoughtful boy, don't you think?_

Arashi finished reading the letter. Her head was bowed and her bangs shadowed her face, hiding her expression. Xiang Kun watched her with a touch of anxiety.

"What do you think?" He asked. He cried out in surprise as Arashi threw her thin arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest. His face went instantly crimson.

"Thank you so much Xiang Kun," she said with a voice thick with emotion.

"N-n-no problem," he answered. She pulled away but didn't remove her arms. He saw her cerulean eyes shining with tears and her face flushed with happiness. Something in his chest fluttered. Her soft, pink lips had never looked so inviting. For a moment he had the mad impulse to kiss her...

"Ooooooh!" Crowed a teasing voice. Arashi and Xiang Kun froze.

They had unawaredly attracted an audience. The girls were doubled over giggling, except for Alex who was smirking. The boys mostly looked confused and a little embarassed. Fenris looked ready to commit murder (which is how he normally looked anyway).

"I wish I had a camera," Alex teased.

They broke away, both blushing furiously. Xiang Kun recovered first. He noticed Pompfrey standing in the corner, glaring at them and tapping her watch.

"We should probably go," he said. The others saw what he saw and reluctantly agreed.

"Come visit me again soon!" Arashi called after them as they were ushered from the hospital wing by the irate nurse.

"You look exhausted," she said accusingly to Arashi, fluffing her pillows and pulling the sheets tight. "Take this and lie down." She gave her a small vial filled with violet liquid, a sleeping potion. Arashi took it and instantly felt drowsy.

Pompfrey wandered away as Arashi fell back into her pillows, her eyes drooping but a smile was still on her face.

'_Spending the holidays with Xiang Kun? What could be better..._'

She fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Several miles away, in a lavishely furnished room, lit by many flickering candles, a figure dressed in all white watched Arashi fall asleep through a crystal ball. She clenched her ivory fists. 

"When?" She asked. "_When?_"

"Soon," Thanatos answered from the chair where he was currently resting. The figure - who was clearly female - whirled around, her pretty face red with anger.

"Soon? _Soon? _I want her out of the way, but you can't seem to do that!" She shrieked. Thanatos gave her a cool look.

"It will take time," he began patiently, but the girl cut him off.

"You failed last time you tried," she said accusingly. "You _failed."_

"I was not prepared for... that," he admitted. The attack his beloved had used against him had left quite a mark, both on him and his guardians.

"You will continue to fail," she went on, ignoring him. "That bitch will keep beating you if you keep trying the same methods over and over."

Thanatos gave her a sharp look. "Do not call her that," he said coldly.

She sneered. "Bitch. Bitch, bitch, bitch-" She was cut off by a resounding slap on her face that sent her tumbling to the ground. She looked up at him, clutching her red cheek, her face held an expression like a wounded animal.

"I did warn you," he said mildly. He moved away from her, over to the crystal ball and watched his raven haired beauty sleep in silence. The girl picked herself off of the floor and watched him carefully.

"You promised me power," she said quietly. "You promised me _him_. When will I be ready?"

He didn't turn around. He caressed the crystal ball, imagining it was the smooth face of Arashi. "Soon," he answered, his expression hungry.

* * *

**Raven:** Spooky. 

**Alex:**They almost kissed!YAY!

**Fenris: **No violence and there's romance? That sucked.

**Raven: **You suck.

**Alex:** Anyway please read and review!

**Raven:** Yes I need some feedback!


	14. Dark Dream

**Raven:** New chapter! woooo!

**Alex:** this chapter better have something awesome, like a little romance or a film festival.

**Raven: **um. We'll see.

**Alex: **Yay!

**Fenris: **What about mauling?

**Raven: **it's always about the mauling with you.

**Fenris:**Pretty much.

**Raven: **anyway... Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Lizzeh! Love you all!

**Alex:** Nothing belongs to us except some things.

* * *

After hearing the news of her up coming holiday plans, Arashi recovered very quickly and was out of the hospital in a day. Her friends were more than happy to see her the next morning in the common room.

"Arashiii!" Aaby squealed as she ran up to give her a bone crushing hug.

Arashi laughed and hugged back.

"I'm so glad to see you guys!" She said.

"We're glad to see you too!" Victoria said. She joined in on the hug. Soon it became a massive group hug among all the girls. The boys, including Xiang Kun, hung back awkwardly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Fenris muttered.

Xiang Kun watched the scene andsmiled fondly.

"_Someone's _happy to see Arashi," Ron said knowingly. Xiang Kun shrugged.

"Of course I'm happy to see her," he said. "She's my friend."

* * *

**-Clow's Old Rooms-**

Arashi was about to settle down to bed. Her small CD player flicked on and soft Do As Infinity music filled the air. Arashi sang along as she brushed her hair and put on her blue with white snowflakes PJs.

She sat down at her desk and pulled out a sheet of light blue stationary that was decorated with white stars. After a moment's thought, she began to write.

"Hey what are you up to?" Alex asked, popping in suddenly.

"AHH!" Arashi shouted, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Don't _do_ that."

Alex shrugged. "Sorry. Anyway what are you doing?"

Arashi calmed down and held up the paper. "I'm writing to Hiroshi. Remember him?"

Alex nodded. "Of course I do. Your friend from Tokyo. He helped you catch some of the cards, right?"

"Hai. He and I used to be so close..." She trailed off, sighing. "Of course, I had to move." She said sadly. She brightened up. "But now that I'm going to visit Tokyo during the holidays I can pay him a visit!" She happily went back to writing. Hiroshi had been her best friend in Japan. They had both gone to the same magical school together and shared most of their classes. He had been a very talented wizard and martial artist and had even taught Arashi some moves. They still exchanged letters on occasion, but they were both so busy these days. Alex was looking thoughtful.

"I wonder how his band is doing," she wondered out loud.

Arashi paused. "In his last letter he said they were doing pretty good. I think they got some gigs." Hiroshi had started a band in their third year called "Pheonix Phire". Or at least that's what it was called at first. He changed his band name so often, it was hard to keep up.

Arashi finished the letter, folded it up neatly, and paused. How was she going to send it to him? It was too late and too cold to go up to the owlery. Fenris would never agree to flying out across an ocean to see Hiroshi (they had never really gotten along) and besides, he'd resent being used as a messenger.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, noticing her mistress' sudden silence.

"I'm trying to think of how to send the letter to Hiroshi," she answered. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? You're a _sorceress_. Use your magic."

Arashi hesitated. _'Well, it's worth a shot.' _She held her hands over the envelope and focused on Hiroshi's location. Her hands began to glow and for a moment she thought she could actually see Hiroshi in his room, practising on his guitar. The letter glowed blue and streaked out of the room. Outside a blue streak illuminated the night. Arashi watched it go.

"I hope it won't get wet," she said.

"I don't think it will," Alex said.

Arashi sighed happily and fell back on her bed.

"I can't wait to see Hiroshi again," she said. "I miss him."

Alex paused at the door on her way out.

"Does Xiang Kun know about Hiroshi?" She asked innocently.

"No," Arashi answered, looking confused. "Why?"

Alex smirked to herself. "No reason," she murmured as she walked out.

* * *

"The Christmas Holidays are heeeere!" Aaby hollered, throwing her hands in the air in celebration. "Woooo!"

The rest of the Transfiguration class looked alarmed. The bell had only just rung a few seconds ago. Professor McGonagall looked torn between annoyed and amused. Victoria looked embarassed and Arashi and Ginny were laughing.

"Sit down, Aaby," Victoria hissed.

"Yes, sit _down_ Miss Morgan," McGonagall said sternly. "You are not permitted to leave until you can successfully transfigure your quill into a snake."

Aaby paled. She hadn't been doing well in Transfiguration all year and she didn't even like snakes. She sat down feeling dejected as the rest of the class filed out. Arashi, whose quill had become a snake towards the begining of the class, lingered behind and gave Aaby some quick whispered tips.

Aaby nodded hopefully and tried her spell again.

"_Serpentia Mutatio,_" she chanted. The quill shivered and curled up into a little snake. Aaby whooped once more with joy.

* * *

**--In the Fifth Year Girls' Bedroom---**

Arashi sat on Ginny's bed, watching the other girls pack with interest. She had already packed moments before and was looking for company.

"How did you manage to get packed so quickly?" Asked an annoyed Victoria.

Arashi shrugged. "Magic," she said. "Do you want any help?"

Victoria nodded distractedly as she tried to stuff her things into her bag. Arashi waved her hand and with a flash of blue and silver light, Victoria's things arranged themselves properly and shrunk down. The luggage snapped shut, Victoria removing her hands just in time. She gaped at Arashi, who smiled shyly.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to be that quick."

"No wonder you got finished so quickly," Ginny said, laughing at Victoria's expression. Arashi giggled a little too.

"Does anyone else need any help?" She asked.

"No!" Yelled the other girls before bursting into laughter.

"Huh!" Arashi said, crossing her arms and pretending to be hurt which just made the girls laugh harder.

"Ok ok," Ginny said, whiping away a tear. "Enough of that. Hey Arashi?"

"Yes?" Arashi said.

"We understand that you're going with Xiang Kun to spend Christmas with him," Ginny said slyly. All the other girls suddenly looked sly and knowing as well.

"Ooooooo," said Victoria. "He's going to let you meet his folks huh? Wants you to have mom's approval?" She giggled as Arashi turned crimson.

"It's not like that," Arashi said hotly. "He just didn't want me to be alone over the Christmas hols."

"I bet he didn't!" Aaby said. She cackled.

"It's not like that!" Arashi protested again.

"Oooo isn't Christmas a romantic kind of holiday in Japan?" Victoria asked. Her eyes gleamed with mischief.

"No," Arashi lied. The girls began laughing again to Arashi's irritation. She finally got so fed up she threw a pillow at Victoria.

"Ooof!" Victoria mock-glared at Arashi who smirked back.

"Bring it on," she said. Victoria launched the pillow back at Arashi who snatched it from the air and threw it at Ginny.

And that's how the great pillow fight started.

* * *

**-Outside the Castle-**

Arashi rushed down the steps of the castle with her guardians walking (or flying, in Fernis' case) calmly behind her, carrying their bags which had been enchanted to be lighter (which was good because Alex brought a loooot of things). A fresh coating of snow was falling from the sky.

"Watch out, kid!" Alex called after her. "The steps are slick!"

Arashi paid her no heed although she did occasionally slip but not enough to fall over. As she approached the horseless carriage, her luck ran out. She slipped, falling face first into the snowy ground. In front of Xiang Kun. A few spectators laughed.

Xiang Kun rushed over and grabbed her arm to gently help her to her feet. He glared at the laughing spectators, which shut them up pretty quickly.

"Arigato, Xiang Kun," Arashi said turning her usual shade of red.

"I warned you," Alex sang as she came up behind them.

Arashi ignored her as she was trying to save herself some dignity. Xiang Kun helpfully helped her to her feet and took her bags. She smiled and thanked him again and just as she took a step towards the carriage, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle.

"Itai!" She cried, nearly falling over once more. Xiang Kun was quick to support her and threw her arm around his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"It's my ankle," she said wincing. "I must have twisted it or something." She smiled at his worried expression. "Don't worry, I'll heal it in no time." He nodded and supported her all the way into the carriage.

"Awww what a gentlemen," Alex cooed. Fenris scowled.

"Are you guys coming?" Arashi asked, peeking out of the carriage.

"Haii!" Alex said, picking up her bags and rushing forward with Fenris flitting behind her. They got in and the carriage took off towards the scarlet Hogwarts Express.

* * *

**-The Airport-**

The group hurried towards the plane as the sun began to set in the sky.

"We're taking my family's private jet," Xiang Kun informed them as they came up to a small jet. Alex let out a low whistle.

"Oooh fancy," she said. Fenris flew around it briefly, examining it carefully.

"It seems safe," he said shortly.

"It looks amazing!" Arashi said, her eyes bugging out. "I didn't know your family was so rich, Xiang Kun!"

Xiang Kun looked a little embarassed. "Well, with mom's acting and modelling and dad being the head of the Li clan..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"Ugh it's freezing out here," Alex complained. "Let's get on already."

They did, with the pilot helpfully taking their luggage. He ushered them inside. Alex let out another low whistle.

"Now I'm really impressed," she said.

The inside was not lavishly furnished, but it looked very comfortable and cosy.

"This is the first room," Xiang Kun said. "There's one other in the back. It has a hot tub."

Alex grinned madly. "Yes! I call that room!" She ran off, pausing only to snatch Fenris from the air and drag him into the next room.

* * *

The plane ride to Japan was long but not boring. Arashi and Xiang Kun took the small room and sat together on the small couch-like seat. She and Xiang Kun talked for a while before she began to yawn. 

"I'm sorry," she said after another yawn. "I must be more tired than I thought."

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Xiang Kun asked.

Arashi shook her head.

"I keep having weird dreams," she said. She yawned again. "Sorry."

"Go ahead and sleep," Xiang Kun urged. "It's a long flight, you won't miss much."

Arashi smiled sleepily. "Maybe I will take a little nap..." Her eyelids grew heavy. She relaxed in her large chair and fell asleep.

Xiang Kun busied himself with reading up on the book his father had sent him ("_A Practical Guide to Sorcerery_"). He began to get really into a chapter about using magic to harness physical attributes when he suddenly felt a light pressure on his shoulder. It was Arashi. In her sleep, she had rested her head against his shoulder. Her face looked peaceful and once again Xiang Kun felt himself drawn to her lips, which were currently slightly parted. He turned away, blushing, and forced himself to return to reading.

Arashi moaned softly in her sleep. Xiang Kun became even redder.

"Stay... stay with me..." She murmured. Her hand flew up and brushed Xiang Kun's shirt before falling onto his leg. Xiang Kun stared hard at the pages but the words no longer reached his over-heated brain

Arashi went silent, much to Xiang Kun's relief. It didn't last. She moaned again, but this time it sounded like a moan of pain. Her brows furrowed and her face contorted into an expression.

"Stop... stop... please..." She whimpered. Her hand tightened on Xiang Kun's leg. She twitched and her breathing became harsh and hurried.

"Arashi..?" He asked, looking worried.

"Don't... don't do this..." She let out another whimper. Xiang Kun watched in horror as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes and her nails dug into his jeans.

"Arashi!" He grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her gently awake. It wasn't working. She looked as if she was in real pain now and was begining to tremble. He began to shake her harder, pulling her close. She let out a strangled noise and, to Xiang Kun's surprise, she lashed out against him, striking him across the face.

"Let me go!" She screamed, thrashing wildly. He was reluctant to as he was afraid she would hurt herself. He held her tighter instead, straining against her attacks.

"Wake up, Arashi!" He urged. "It's me, Xiang Kun!"

She became still. "Xiang Kun...?" Her eyes flew open to his relief. But it didn't last long.

Her eyes were a blank pale blue. She was still asleep. She looked at him, unseeing, her expression confused.

"Yes," he said, unsure about what was going on. Something felt very, very odd. "It's Xiang Kun," he repeated.

Her expression changed slowly, her eyes widening. She was no longer confused, but now she looked horrified. "Why...?" She asked, her voice tight with pain. "Why would you leave me?" She looked beyond him, over his shoulder. "Why would you leave me for her?"

Xiang Kun looked around in confusion. There was no one else but them. "Arashi, what-"

Arashi jerked away from him suddenly. Her body lifted from the ground and was thrown back against the couch. Xiang Kun cried out in surprise and rushed towards her. As he moved forward, the air suddenly became alive with sparks of blue and silver. The door of their little room was thrown back, revealing a dripping wet Alex and Fenris.

"Xiang Kun, stop!" Fenris screamed, flying forward. Too late, Xiang Kun touched Arashi and in a flash of blue light, fell into a deep sleep.

"Idiot boy!" Fenris raged. "He's fallen into the Dream's trap!"

Alex walked over to them both and put her hand on her mistress' forhead. She closed her eyes and glowed a green-blue colour.

Fenris watched closely. "Well?" He asked.

Alex sighed and pulled away, shaking her head sadly. "The Dark Dream card's taken them both. I don't know where." Fenris swore.

* * *

"Arashi!" Xiang Kun cried. He gathered her unconsious form in his arms and brushed the hair from her face. His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. She was bruised and her lip was bleeding.

_'How did this happen? She didn't get this from hitting the couch, did she? Wait... where is the couch?' _He looked around wildly. The couch was gone, along with the rest of the plane. Instead there was columns and tapestries. It looked like they were in a castle. He swore. '_It was a trap.'_

"Hello Xiang Kun," a musical, feminine voice said. "How nice of you to join me." Xiang Kun looked around wildly for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" He demanded. "Show yourself!" The voice sighed.

"Very well," she said. One of the most beautiful girls Xiang Kun had ever seen stepped out of the shadows. She wore a silky white dress decorated with sparkling diamonds that hugged her curvy figure. Her long platinum blond hair was smooth and flowed down to her hips where it curled slightly andher eyes were like emeralds. Her cheeks had a natural pink tint and her cherry red lips parted slightly. Xiang Kun gaped.

"Don't you recognise me, Xiang Kun?" She asked.

"_Anastatia?_" He asked in disbelief.

Anastatia nodded and smiled serenely. "I'm so glad to see you," she said. "I've missed you so much." She floated forward.

Xiang Kun stood up, still cradelling Arashi in his arms. "Where have you been?" He demanded. "The whole school's been worried about you!"

Anastatia shook her head, causing her blond hair to tumble over her pale shoulders. "No they haven't," she said quietly. "Don't try to deny it, Xiang Kun," she said as Xiang Kun opened his mouth to do just that. He shut it.

"All right, but _I've _been worried."

Anastatia smiled at him. "I know. You were always so good to me. Even when everyone else was against me... except for one person." Her face suddenly clouded with anger. "You took her side against mine." She said, pointing to the frail, brusied body in Xiang Kun's arms.

"Because you were lying, Ana," Xiang Kun explained patiently, his grip tightening on Arashi. "You were trying to hurt Arashi and spread false rumours. Very painful rumours." He added.

Anastatia snarled and flicked her fingers. Arashi was suddenly jerked from his grasp once more and thrown across the room, into the shadows, where she landed with a sick cracking sound. Xiang Kun screamed and rushed after her, only to be frozen mid-step. He couldn't move.

Anastatia came up to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "You hurt me, Xiang Kun," she said softly. "I trusted you and you betrayed me. But I forgive you." She drew his unresisting form to her ample breast. "But she has to die."

'_No!' _Xiang Kun mentally screamed, still unable to move.

Anastatia lifted her hand once more, her other hand holding Xiang Kun against her, and she began to glow a soft white. She flicked her fingers again, sending a blast of white-silver fire at Arashi's unconcious form. Xiang Kun tried with all of his power to escape whatever spell Anastatia had put on him, but he couldn't. The flames alighted on Arashi and consumed her entirely.

* * *

**Alex: **That was unexpected and mean.

**Raven: **And so am i.

**Fenris: **Well there was violence but it was against my mistress. So I don't approve.

**Raven: **Sorry? anyway please review! I love all reviews! even some flames!OK not really!


	15. Family Reunion

**Raven: **Not much to say here. I don't own anything, as usual. And a special thanks to all my reviewers and my beta!

**Alex: **This chapter better have a good thing happening. I don't want Arashi to die!

**Raven: **Me either... or do i?

**Alex: **No you don't!

* * *

Last Chapter: 

_Anastatia came up to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "You hurt me, Xiang Kun," she said softly. "I trusted you and you betrayed me. But I forgive you." She drew his unresisting form to her amplebreast. "But she has to die."_

_'No!' Xiang Kun mentally screamed, still unable to move._

_Anastatia lifted her hand once more, her other hand holding Xiang Kun against her, and she began to glow a softwhite. She flicked her fingers again, sending a blast of white-silver fire at Arashi's unconcious form. Xiang Kun tried with all of his power to escape whatever spell Anastatia had put on him, but he couldn't. The flames alighted on Arashi and consumed her entirely._

* * *

The spell on him was broken. Xiang Kun fell to his knees, his eyes wide and unseeing. His face was white and his breath shallow.

'_She's dead. The flames consumed her. She's _dead. _And I couldn't protect her. She's dead.' _The thought kept occuring to him but he couldn't process it.

"Ana... how could you?" He asked, his voice quavering with pain. "Why...?"

Anastatia shrugged. "It had to be done." She said simply. "She got in my way. But now, Xiang Kun," she knelt down across him, cupping his face with her hands, "we can be together." Xiang Kun didn't look at her.

"You killed Arashi." He said. Tears began to form in his eyes. "You killed her!" His voice was now harsh with anger and his face was reddening.

"It had to be done," Anastatia repeated. The look in his eyes had robbed her of her calm disposition. His eyes were burning with rage. "It had to be done..."

He snarled, sounding oddly like a wolf, and drew his sword. Anastatia screamed and stumbled to her feet. Xiang Kun moved quicker, though and was soon upon her. He swung his sword back in a graceful arc, aiming for her neck...

"_Xiang Kun, stop!_" A familiar voice shouted. The sword was wrenched from his hands by a sudden gust of powerful wind. He looked around wildly.

"Who's there!" He demanded.

"I am," a quiet voice said from behind. He whirled around to face...

"_Arashi?_"

It _was_ her. She was still bruised and bleeding, one arm was hanging limply at her side and the other held her Star Wand, but she was whole and breathing and that was enough. The red mist of rage lifted and he threw his arms around her delicate form, gathering her into a hug.

"You're alive," he said. "Wait." He pulled away, holding her at arms' length. "I saw you die! I saw the flames. How?"

Arashi gave him a weak smile and winked. "Magic," she said. He smiled and hugged her again, laughing.

Their happy moment was ruined by a scream of rage. They pulled apart to see Anastatia, red faced and furious. She drew her hand back for another attack. Arashi pushed Xiang Kun out of the way and readied her wand. Anastatia began to glow once more and Arashi moved quickly. She levatated a card in the air and struck it with her wand.

"_Dream, break us out of this nightmare!_"

The Dream appeared and raised her hands. Everything became warped and blurred, including Anastatia's attack.

"NO!" She screamed.

"Like I thought," Arashi said quietly. "This is the Dark Dream card's work."

As she finished speaking, a darker version of the Dream Card appeared as the dream around them vanished. Arashi pulled out another card.

"_Shot!_"

The Shot materialized and shot the Dark Dream card dead center, destroying it totally. In a flash of light it vanished and was replaced with a card with a hole, fluttering to the ground. Anastatia stood a few paces behind it, her eyes wide with disbelief and horror.

"No," she mumbled. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go. _I'm _the powerful one now." She looked Arashi in the eyes.

The petite girl's expression was hard and determined but her eyes showed sympathy. This made Anastatia angrier than anything.

"How dare you pity me!" she screamed. She ran forward, white fire forming in her hands...

But the dream was vanishing and Anastatia's screams of frustration became nothing but faint echoes.

* * *

Arashi and Xiang Kun woke up. They each lay in silence, wondering what had just happened. Nothing could be heard except the soft sound of conversation, some where far off.

"It was a dream," Xiang Kun murmured.

"It was _the _Dream," Arashi corrected softly. "A Dark Card."

Xiang Kun sat up and helped Arashi to do the same. He saw that the bruises and cuts were gone and both of her arms were working fine. She moved as if she was about to get upbut Xiang Kun caught her around the waist and pulled her into a fierce hug. They pulled apart and she looked at him in shock.

"Are you all right?" He asked quietly. Arashi broke into a smile and nodded.

"Sorry about all that," she said. "I used the Illusion to make it look like I was still lying there to trick her. I was going to attack Anastatia by surprise, but when you were about to cut her head off, I had to interfere."

Xiang Kun nodded. "I understand," he said. "Thank you," he added. "I may hate Anastatia, but I don't want to kill her." He paused, wondering if he was lying. He could still remember how it felt to see Arashi's body consumed with flames and Anastatia smiling. He had never lost control like that before. He had wanted to _kill_ Anastatia.

Arashi stared into his forest green eyes, her own sapphire eyes showing a hint of sadness.

Suddenly, a thought occured to her and Arashi looked around.

"Hey, where are we?" She asked.

Xiang Kun broke from his trance and looked around too. They definitely weren't on the plane anymore. They were in a large room, on a large, soft bed with a plush green comforter. The curtains on the large window were drawn closed but moonlight could still be seen outside.

"How long have we been out?" Xiang Kun said, mostly to himself. Arashi shrugged. They both got up, approaching the oak door with caution. As they did so, they became aware of whispered voices on the other side.

"Are they awake yet?" Asked one in a loud whisper. It sounded like a young girl.

"Their auras have changed, so I think they might be." Answered another. This one sounded like a girl as well, but older than the last voice. This person's voice was soft and gentle sounding.

"Then why are we just standing around here?" The first voice demanded.

"Because," explained the very familiar voice of Alex, "I want to give my mistress plenty of rest on the bed with her beau."

"What are they doing on the bed?" Asked a very young sounding girl's voice.

"Probably kissing," answered the first voice again, giggling. Both of the listeners turned red.

"_Ewwwwwwwww!_" Chorused two young girl voices.

"Who would want to kiss my Nii-chan?" Asked one of the young girls.

Xiang Kun paled and his eyes widened with terror.

"Oh no," he muttered, "it's _them_."

"Them?" Asked Arashi curiously, still blushing horribly from the kissing comment.

"Oh! They're awake!"

The door burst open suddenly and Xiang Kun and Arashi lept back in shock. In the doorway stood five female figures. At the front was a short 13 year old girl with long black hair that shone red in the light, styled up in two buns at the top of her head, and red-orange eyes. Behind her stood a slender girl around their age, with long, wavy midnight blue hair with lighter blue highlights and amethyst eyes that were sparkling with mischief behind round glasses. At either side of the blue haired girl were two six year old girls (obviously twins) each had shoulder length light brown hair and wide brown eyes. The only difference between them, was one wore a green dress and the other wore a pink dress. Behind all of them, standing much taller than the rest, was an amused Alex.

Each girl turned to look squarely at Xiang Kun.

"Oh no," he said. "Please don't-"

"XIANG KUN!" They screamed together, glomping him to the ground.

"We missed you sooooo much!"

"What's England like?"

"Did you bring us something?"

"Hello everyone," Xiang Kun said, rolling his eyes. "I missed you too. Now please get off."

The girls did, with some reluctance. Xiang Kun got back on his feet and glared at the group.

"I understand why the rest of you did that, but why did you, Alex?" He asked.

"Seemed like fun." Alex answered, grinning. "Now," she said. "What have you done to my Mistress? Had your way with her, I presume."

Xiang Kun became several new shades of red. "N-n-no of course not!" He stuttered angrily. He glared at her. "And don't say that in front of my sisters!"

"Chill out, they don't know what it means," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"Where is the new Card Mistress?" The blue haired girl asked interestedly. "I'm anxious to meet her."

"Er..." Arashi said, coming out from behind the bed where she had taken refuge from the crazy girls. Her cheeks were pink with nerves. She bowed. "Konnichiwa."

The girls blinked at her. And then they glomped _her_ to the ground.

"Ahhh you're so kawaii!"

"I could just eat you up!"

"Can I call you Arashi-chan?"

Arashi wanted to reply, but was unable to as she couldn't breathe.

"Everyone, get off of her, NOW!" Xiang Kun shouted. Everyone glowed dark green and was thrown off of Arashi, whose face was now turning blue.

"Dirty trick!" The black haired girl fumed. "No fair using your magic against us."

"You were choking her," he said flatly, as he helped Arashi to her feet. "Now introduce yourselves like human beings and not like wild animals."

The twins pouted. "You're no fun."

"Oh, very well." The blue haired girl stepped forward and bowed. "Konnichiwa, Arashi-san. I am Sumiko Hiriigazawa, but I would be honored if you called me Sumi-chan. All my friends do. My parents are Tomoyo and Eriol." Sumiko smiled kindly at her and Arashi noticed she had a deep blue aura.

'_She has a powerful aura_,' Arashi noted. She smiled and returned her bow.

The black haired girl spoke next. "My name is Zhang Yu Mei and I'm 13 years old. My parents are Mei Ling and Huang Fu. I enjoy kung-fu movies and martial arts in general. I'm really good at it, too! Watch." Yu Mei performed a flawless high kick, her foot just inches from Arashi's stunned face. "I also go to a magical school and one day I'll be a powerful magician," she boasted. And not without reason, Arashi noted. She could feel her fiery red aura pulsate with power.

The two little twins were standing on either side of Xiang Kun. As they stood side by side, Arashi could clearly see the family resemblence between them and Xiang Kun. "And these two little monsters," Xiang Kun said, "are my little sisters, Ying Fa," the girl in the green dress gave a little wave. "And Nadeshiko or Shiko-chan." The girl in the pink dress giggled and tugged on her older brother's hand.

"She's pretty," she said.

"Yeah," Ying Fa piped up. "Are you going to marry her?"

Xiang Kun just shook his head and gave the blushing Arashi an apologetic look.

"Ne, Arashi-san, why don't you come downstairs and meet the rest of our little family?" Sumiko said, linking arms with Arashi. She smiled and nodded.

"I would like that very much," she said.

"Do you mind if I call you "Arashi-chan"?" Sumiko asked. Arashi shook her head and smiled.

"It's been a long time since anyone's called me that," she said nostalgiacly.

"Yeah, not since Hiroshi-san, ne?" Alex said with a hint of mischeif. Xiang Kun gave her a sharp look.

"Who's Hiroshi?" He asked.

"Come on, Arashi-chan," Yu Mei said, grabbing her other arm. "Let's go and get something to eat."

"Yes, and you can tell us all about your adventures," Sumiko said. They began to lead her out of the room.

"Hai hai, tell us about the cards!" The twins shouted together, rushing after them, leaving an annoyed Xiang Kun alone in the room.

"But who's Hiroshi?" He asked no one.

* * *

**-Downstairs-**

Arashi was hurried down the stairs and to a large sitting room, where an equally large group of people were milling about in it. Everyone looked preoccupied and worried and talked in hushed tones. They didn't notice the small group of young adults come down the stairs.

Arashi was still being escorted by Sumiko and Yu Mei, with the twins, Alex, and Xiang Kun in the rear. As they entered the room, Arashi instantly recognized Tomoyo, the young woman she had met during the final judgement with Sakura. Standing next to her was a tall, thin man with short blue-black hair and a look in his eyes that reminded her very much of her grandfather. He also reminded her slightly of Clow.

"You must be Eriol Hiirigizawa," she said before anyone else spoke. Instantly the people in the room stopped what they were doing, and turned to stare at the petite black haired girl.

"That's right," Eriol said, peering at her over his glasses. "And you must be Arashi Aoi Galewich."

Arashi nodded silently. She had never actually met Clow Reed, either in memory or in person. She had seen pictures but that was it. She had never met Eriol either, but she knew about him from what Fenris had told her. His aura was powerful, _very_ powerful. It also seemed oddly ancient.

Tomoyo bowed to her in greeting. "Konnichiwa, Arashi-san. We're happy to have you over for Christmas!" Arashi smiled back, still feeling amazed at the amount of power in this room alone.

"I-I'm very happy to be here," she replied, bowing in return.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Tomoyo said. "This is our old friend Mei Ling, her husband, Zhang Huang." As she spoke, two dark haired adults bowed. The woman was tall and curvy, and in excellent shape. Her red eyes were sharp but friendly looking. Arashi was instantly reminded of Yu Mei, as the resemblance between them was very strong. Next to her was a much taller, skinnier man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He gave her a soft smile. Tomoyo continued: "And their son, Jiang Bai." A tall, skinny boy that looked to be in his late teens bowed low, a very faint dusting of pink on his cheeks. While Yu Mei clearly took after her mother, Jiang Bai clearly had taken after his father.

"Hello, how are you?" Arashi said in stilted Cantonese.

"Very good," Mei Ling answered in equally stilted English, grinning.

"You already know my husband and my daughter..." Tomoyo said. Eriol smiled and inclined his head slightly and Sumiko gave her a little squeeze on the arm and a wink.

"The two gentlemen by the couch over there are Touya Kinomoto and Yukito Kinomoto." A dark haired man sitting next to Yue's other form nodded at her.

"Newly weds," Sumiko whispered to her, giggling.

Tomoyo continued on, looking around the room. "Wow, there's a lot of people here. Let's see, there's also the guardians: Kero-chan, Spinel Sun aka Suppi," The small, flying black cat growled low in his throat at the use of the nickname."And then there's Yukito aka Yue, who I just introduced, and Nakuru aka-" She was cut off by a tall skinny brunette throwing herself across the room and glomping onto a very startled Arashi.

"KAWAIII!" She screamed, hugging Arashi tightly.

"Er, aka Ruby Moon." Tomoyo finished, hiding a smile.

Alex pouted. "No fair, I want some too!"

Nakuru let a now blue-faced Arashi go. "Kay!" She said, and glomped onto Alex, who glomped back.

"Er, where was I?" Tomoyo went on quickly. "Ah yes. Last, but hardly least, is-"

"Tomoyo-chan! Are they awake yet?" Two people dressed heavily in coats and scarves, suddenly rushed into the room. The man's arms were full of colourful bags and boxes and the woman was fretting with a pair of pink mittens. Arashi didn't need to be told who they were. Their aura's gave it away.

"Kinomoto-san," Arashi said, bowing deeply.

The woman, Sakura, tore off her coat and threw her arms around both Arashi and Xiang Kun, pulling them tightly to her.

"Don't ever do that again!" She whispered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Arashi was too stunned to speak. Xiang Kun sighed, but gave his mother a gentle smile.

"I won't, okaa-san," he said.

"Promise?" She asked agressively.

"Hai."

Sakura calmed down significantly. "Good," she said. She turned to Arashi and gently took her hand. "I want you to meet my husband." She lead them towards the tall brown haired man, who had dumped the parcels on the counter. "This is Syaoran. Syaoran, this is Arashi." Arashi stared in surprise.

"Xiang Kun looks so much like you!" She blurted. Everyone laughed and she blushed. "I mean, it's nice to meet you," she said, bowing. He returned the bow.

"I'm pleased to meet you as well." He said politely.

* * *

The dark aura that had settled on the house while Arashi and Xiang Kun were unconcious had lifted. Now everyone was in a festive mood, and everyone knew just how to show it. Even though it was rather late at night - past 10 pm Sumiko told Arashi - they were settling down to a great feast Tomoyo had made.

Arashi was very surprised at all the effort Tomoyo had gone to. It wasn't even Christmas yet! Even so, Arashi was thrilled and surprisingly hungry. She wolfed down her food without much talking. Everyone else talked and Arashi learned many things. Such as many colourful and embarassing stories about Xiang Kun. The poor boy was pretty much red throughout dinner, but he retaliated by telling equally embarassing stories about his cousins.

At one point during the dinner she thought she caught Eriol staring at her for some reason. He had the oddest look on his face, a look Arashi couldn't quite place.

After she finished her dinner, she realized how exhausted she was. Sakura showed her to her room, which she was sharing with Sumiko.

"So, tell me," Sumiko said after Sakura had left and they were getting ready for bed. "How good a kisser is Xiang Kun?"

Arashi choked on the water she had been drinking.

"That good, ne?" Sumiko said as Arashi coughed and sputtered.

"N-no! I mean, yes! I don't mean he's a bad kisser. I mean... we're just friends." She finished lamely. Sumiko gave her a sly look.

"Just friends? Really? Hm. Seems like a waste." She remarked.

"What do you mean?" Arashi asked curiously. Sumiko gave her another sly look.

"Oh, nothing," she said innocently. "Anyway, do you have a boyfriend?"

Arashi shook her head, blushing. "No. I'm not really into dating right now..."

"_Really_," Sumiko said with a smirk.

"Yes, really," Arashi said firmly.

"And Xiang Kun hasn't shown any interest in you?"

Arashi shrugged and crawled under the plush covers of her bed. "No, not really. He's the one who said we were just friends," she muttered sullenly.

"Funny thing," Sumiko said as she crawled into bed. "He talks about you all the time in his letters."

Arashi blushed. "He sends you letters? Are two really close?"

Sumiko shrugged. "Pretty close, yes. He is my darling third cousin. We grew up together."

"Ah." Arashi said. "Er," she leaned over and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Would you mind helping me find a gift for Xiang Kun?"

Sumiko smiled pleasantly. "Of course I would! I would _love_ to help you with my darling cousin." Her eyes glinted with mischief.

Arashi nodded and gave her a weak smile. She wondered if it was such a good idea to ask Sumiko after all. She looked like she was up to something.

'_But she seems so nice!' _She thought. '_I'm probably just being paranoid._' And with that, she rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

**Raven:**A boring ending... but this chapter had a lot of stuff going for it... right?

**Alex: **Sure.

**Fenris: **I don't exist do i? WRITE ABOUT ME DAMMIT.

**Raven: **Um maybe next chapter.

**Alex: **Read and review! much love for all readers and reviewers.


	16. Christmas Shopping

**Raven: **I got nothing.

**Alex: **Disclaimer: nothing belongs to us except us and Arashi. ok? ok.

**

* * *

**

**-Next Morning-**

The sun hadn't even begun to crawl above the horizon when Xiang Kun woke up. He lay in his large forest green bedding, thinking to himself. His thoughts dwelled on Anastatia. He had liked her, back when they first met. He saw through her arrogant mask and saw the vulnerable girl she really was. He had thought of her as a younger sister, someone to protect.

And now... he shuddered at the memory of her eyes. They had been so cold, so heartless. And he had wanted to kill her. That was the most troubling thing of all. She had hurt Arashi and he had wanted to kill her. He wasn't entirely sure if he still wanted her dead or not. He felt confused, conflicted.

Arashi... whenever he thought of her, his confusion increased tenfold. She was so... strange. At first he thought of her the same way he had thought of Anastatia, as a girl he had to protect but he was beginning to realise that she meant more to him than just that. But what could she mean to him?

Still feeling conflicted, he got himself out of bed and into his training clothes. He walked over to the small training room that was set up in their Japanese mansion. He was only a little surprised to see the room was already occupied by his father.

"Ohayo," Syaoran greeted his son.

"Ohayo," Xiang Kun replied. "Won't okaa-san be annoyed you're up so early?" Sakura had never liked waking up without Syaoran by her side, and often felt he tired himself out by training so early in the morning.

Syaoran coughed nervously. "I'm planning on returning to bed before she wakes up, actually."

Xiang Kun smiled and began to spar with his father. They were both very good, and for a while Xiang Kun evaded his father's blows and even landed a few himself. Syaoran recovered soon and began a barrage of speedy attacks, which Xiang Kun couldn't defend against. Soon he fell to the floor and claimed defeat.

"You seem preoccupied," Syaoran said as his son struggled to his feet.

Xiang Kun remained silent. He was usually open with his father, but he hesitated on this. He was afraid, as much as he hated to admit it, afraid of what his father might think of him.

But then... Syaoran was understanding and he needed to talk to someone. And he couldn't talk to his mother, not about this.

He looked up into his father's serious eyes. "I wanted to kill someone," he said. He paused, waiting for his father's reaction. When it didn't come, he went on, "It was when Arashi and I were attacked by the Dark Dream Card... I thought she had been killed by this other girl.A girl who was my friend, someone I swore to protect.I just..." He shuddered at the memory. "I've never felt anything like that before. I really wanted to kill Anastatia. What's worse is that I would have, if Arashi hadn't stopped me." He turned away feeling ashamed.

Syaoran sighed and sat down next to Xiang Kun. "Anger like that can be a difficult thing," he said. "It can be useful, too." He watched his son carefully, but he didn't look up. "It can give you focus and power, but it can be dangerous if you can't control it." He sighed. "One of the most difficult things to master is anger like that, but it can be done. You need to concentrate." He patted Xiang Kun on the back affectionately. "I know you can do it. And don't feel too bad about what happened. You didn't kill the girl, so don't dwell on it. But don't forget it either. Keep the memory as a warning."

Xiang Kun nodded, feeling a little better. "I understand. Arigato, otou-san."

* * *

_Once more Arashi stood in the dark forest. A crescent moon hung in the cloudy sky, providing minimal light. The shadows of the forest stretched and twisted strangely, making the whole scene very eerie. A breeze picked up and the trees began to shake, but Arashi couldn't feel it. _

_The bushes ruslted and a creature emerged from the shadows. Arashi felt her heart leap. It was... her mother. She shuddered, unseen. The creature padded to the center of the clearing and sat down. It remained still for some time and Arashi realised it was waiting for something. _

_Just then someone picked their way through the gripping branches and into the clearing. Arashi wasn't surprised to see it was her father. Well, a younger version of her father. The creature changed form in an instant and once again the beatiful woman stood, her hands on her hips. Her father blushed._

_"I'm glad you came," he said shyly. Suzaku rolled her eyes._

_"I admit, I find you fascinating," she said. "Not many men would willingly search me out like you do." Her father brightened. "They have better self-preservation instincts." She added, sneering._

_"I find you fascinating, too," her father replied cooly. "I've never met a woman quite so..."_

_"Out spoken?" She guessed, tossing her long hair over her shoulder._

_"Rude," he finished. _

_Arashi gasped. Her father really did have a death wish! The woman glowered at him for a moment... and then something amazing happened. The corners of her ruby lips were tugged upwards. She was almost smiling!_

_"You are a strange man," she said. "And a rather stupid one. I could kill you," she said._

_"Maybe," her father retorted. "But why would you? It's such a lovely night, let's not spoil it."_

_To Arashi's surprise, Suzaku didn't argue. Instead she said, "Why did you call me out? Are you looking for a fight."_

_Her father shook his head and looked offended. "Of course not! I just wanted to... see you again." He blushed and smiled charmingly. "Maybe we could talk?"_

_"What could we say?" Suzaku asked, sounding curious for once._

_"Normal people sometimes like to talk about the weather."_

_Her eyes flashed silver for a moment. "It will rain for the next three days," she said. Her father frowned._

_"I don't think so," he said. "We're in a dry spell."_

_"It will end," she said flatly._

_Her father shrugged. "Want to bet?" Suzaku looked puzzled._

_"Pardon?" _

_"Bet," her father repeated. "It's where people make a wager." Her face was still clouded with confusion. "Like, if you were right about the rain tomorrow, I would give you something but if you were wrong, you would give me something. Usually money, but people bet other things too."_

_"That's a strange practice," she said. "But I accept. When it rains tomorrow, you will give me..." She looked thoughtful. "You will give me your silver dagger." Her father looked surprised and his hand flew to the scabbard on his hip._

_"How did you..." He began._

_She simply shrugged. The breezed stirred up again, playing with her hair. She became suddenly alert, her eyes darting to and fro. _

_"I must leave," she said._

_"Wait!"_

_She paused._

_"I'll see you tomorrow?" Her father asked. His eyes held a pleading look. She hesitated for a moment and gave a curt nod. _

_The wind became stronger and tore at Arashi's hair and clothing. The world faded to black..._

* * *

**-Later That Morning-**

Arashi awoke with the sun in her eyes. She sighed. This was the second time she had dreamed of her mother... She found it hard to think of that rude, intimidating woman as her mother. The way her father always spoke, she had thought of her mother as a sweet and compassionate woman, not as demon. How could they even be related?

But they were. Arashi really did have her mother's eyes. She sighed and got up.

Arashi padded down the stairs, still in her blue and white PJs,and into the kitchen, where Tomoyo, Eriol and the twins were making breakfast (or in the twins' case, making a mess).

"Ohyao," Tomoyo greeted. Arashi smiled and returned the greeting, forcing thoughts of her mother aside for now.

"What are you up to?" She asked.

"Well-" Tomoyo began but was interrupted by the twins.

"We're making breakfast, we're making breakfast!" They sang. Tomoyo giggled and Eriol rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you're being very helpful," he muttered. Arashi giggled and got up from the table.

"Here, why don't we help clean up," she offered, gathering the twins towards her. They pouted.

"That's not as fun!" The one dressed in green ('Ying Fa,' Arashi guessed) protested. Nadeshiko looked uncertain.

"We should help clean up a mess we made," she said thoughtfully.

"That's boring!" Ying Fa replied, stomping her foot. Tomoyo and Eriol looked alarmed and Arashi saw the red flag being thrown up. She knelt down to Ying Fa's level.

"It doesn't have to be," she said winking. "Check this out." She held out her hands which began to glow blue. Soon the mess - the batter covered bowl, spoons, chocolate chips, and assorted batter around the room - began to glow blue in response and started to float into the air. The twins gasped. The mess began to move around the room as if in a dance, gracefully weaving around. The batter collected into a ball and was thrown into the bowl, which caught it easily, not spilling a drop. The spoon fell into the bowl afterwards and the chocolate chips piled themselves into a pyramid next to the bowl. The glow died and the twins clapped with excitement.

"Sugoi!" Nadeshiko cried.

"How did you do that?" Ying Fa asked in awe. Arashi winked.

"Magic."

Eriol and Tomoyo looked mildly impressed.

"That takes care of the problem of cleaning up," Tomoyo said happily. "Although maybe someone should take the twins to work off their energy," she said, looking meaningfully at Eriol. Eriol sighed and smiled warily.

"Of course, dear," he said. He took the twins by their hands and lead them out of the room. "Let's go and see what your otou-san is up to, hmm?" He said, grinning evilly.

"Yay!" The twins chorused.

Tomoyo chuckled and got back to making breakfast. Arashi came up next to her and offered help.

"That would be lovely, but you don't have to," she replied.

"I know, but I enjoy it," Arashi said as she began to pour the batter onto the skillet. "I used to cook all the time back home, but after I went to school I've had no time for it," she said.

"Who taught you how to cook?" Tomoyo asked politely.

"My father. He was a great cook. When I was little, we would spend rainy afternoons together, just baking all day," she answered, sounding a little nostalgic. Her good mood dissipated almost instantly at the memory of her father.

"You're very good with children," Tomoyo complimented, changing the subject. Arashi smiled shyly.

"I always liked children," she admitted. "And the twins are so sweet."

Tomoyo smiled mischieviously. "Yes, they seem like that at first but don't be fooled. Little Ying Fa has quite a temper and a short fuse. But I think you impressed her," she said thoughtfully. "It's not often she's impressed."

Arashi's smile deepened. "I'm glad."

Just then, the kitchen doors swung open again and Xiang Kun entered with Jiang Bai, both looking tired and dressed in their training clothes. Tomoyo smiled in greeting.

"Hello boys," she said. "Done training already?"

"Hai," Xiang Kun said. He stopped at the sight of Arashi and blushed a light pink. "Ohayo, Arashi," he greeted.

"Ohayo, Xiang Kun," she returned happily. "I just saw your sisters."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he said. Arashi giggled.

"The way you all act, you'd think they were little monsters," she said.

"I don't think they're monsters," Tomoyo said as she flipped the pancakes. "I just think they can be a... handful."

"Which is a nice way of saying 'monster'," Xiang Kun said, shaking his head. Tomoyo just smiled and didn't respond.

"I have everything under control here," she said to Arashi. "Why don't you sit down? You're a guest, after all."

Arashi decided not to argue. She had to admit, she liked to prospect of sitting with Xiang Kun. She pulled off her apron and folded it neatly before sitting down next to the object of her affections.

"Do you train every morning?" She asked curiously. He nodded.

"Every morning I can," he replied. "I don't get much chance at school, though. It's usually too early for anything."

"How long have you been awake?" Arashi asked, surprised. Xiang Kun looked thoughtful.

"Since before sun rise," he said. "I really didn't look at the clock." Arashi's surprise increased.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "You're so dedicated, Xiang Kun!" Her voice held a note of awe, and Xiang Kun was secretly pleased. That surprised him. Countless girls had given him such compliments before and he'd been flattered, but this was the first time he'd ever felt so pleased. Why was her approval so important? Why was he blushing _again_?

"I've always wanted to learn some form of martial arts," Arashi went on, oblivious to Xiang Kun's inner struggle. "But I never had the time."

"That's too bad," he said stiffly and turned away from her. Arashi frowned and creased her brow in confusion.

Tomoyo came up just then and set the plates stacked high with pancakes in front of the two teens. Arashi smiled and thanked her.

"My pleasure," Tomoyo said. She paused in front of Xiang Kun, giving him a knowing look. He sighed and began to eat, ignoring his relative.

'_I just wish I understood what was going on..._' He thought. His thoughts froze as he ate a piece of pancake. He nearly melted. It was _delicious_. Tomoyo was always a great cook, but this time she really outdid herself.

"Wow, Tomoyo-san," he said. "This is amazing!"

Tomoyo smiled at his compliment. "Arigato, Xiang Kun, but I can't take all the credit."

Xiang Kun blinked at her.

"Arashi-chan helped me make these," she explained. Xiang Kun stared at his plate for a few moments and then turned to Arashi, who was staring at him, her eyes shining.

"You really like it?" She asked quietly. His breath caught in his throat so he simply nodded. She gave him one of her most genuine smiles. "I'm so glad."

Xiang Kun stood up suddenly. "I have to go train," he announced and hurried from the kitchen as fast as he could. Arashi's expression fell almost instantly.

"He didn't finish his breakfast," Tomoyo observed. Arashi stared at her plate. She had lost her appetite.

"Maybe he didn't like it after all," she whispered. Tomoyo gave her a knowing look and shook her head.

"No, he did. He's just... well, he's a boy," she said. Arashi stared at her, uncomprehending. Tomoyo winked. "Don't worry about it," she said. "He'll be back to finish his pancakes." She picked up his plate and wrapped it in cling wrap. "In the mean time, why don't you and the other girls go and get ready for your trip? You're going to Tokyo today, after all."

Arashi perked up instantly. "That's right!" She exclaimed. She wolfed down her breakfast and bolted from the room instantly.

Tomoyo giggled to herself and shook her head. '_Poor Arashi,_' she thought. '_Being so clueless in love is a family trait. Please be patient. He'll come around eventually.'_

* * *

Sumiko, Yu Mei, the twins, Jiang Bai, Xiang Kun and Arashi stood outside the house, each dressed finely but casually in their winter things. Snow dusted the ground and made everything pristine and clean looking. 

"I hope it snows again," Arashi commented. "I always love it when we get a white Christmas."

"I hope so too," Yu Mei agreed. Just then Eriol, Alex, and Nakuru stepped out of the house.

"Ok let's get going," he said. "I have a friend in Tokyo so we're going to teleport there."

Arashi perked up. "No Floo?" She asked hopefully.

"No Floo." Eriol confirmed. "All right everyone, grab hands and hang on..."

Sumiko quickly snatched Arashi's one hand and Yu Mei the other. Arashi felt a touch dissapointed but ignored the feeling and focused on their destination. In a flash of light they vanished.

* * *

**-Kaho-san's House-**

"Hello, Eriol," a woman with long brown hair warmly greeted Eriol. "How are things?"

Eriol returned the smile with one of his own and answered that things were just fine. As the two adults had some small talk, the younger kids began to talk amongst themselves. Arashi couldn't help but notice Sumiko shooting the woman glares.

"Who is that?" Arashi asked her in a hushed tone.

"My father's ex-girlfriend," Sumiko replied darkly.

"You don't like her?" Arashi guessed. Sumiko shrugged.

"She's ok. I guess," she replied stiffly. Arashi watched her carefully and then turned her attention to the two adults. They were having quite an animated discussion. 'Hmm,' she thought. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out with her aura and searched for a feeling...

"She's over him," Arashi whispered to Sumiko. "She's moved on." Sumiko blushed, ashamed at her own childishness.

"That's not what I was worried about," she lied. Arashi just smiled. She didn't notice Xiang Kun watching her, a look of surprise on his face. He leaned close to her.

"How did you find that out?" He asked.

"Empathy," she replied simply.

"Ok kids, let's get going," Eriol said. He ushered them outside with one last wave to Kaho.

Outside Sumiko began arguing with her father while the others watched. Sumiko wanted to go shopping without her father but Eriol wasn't entirely convinced that was a good idea.

"I don't need supervision," she insisted. "If I get into trouble, I can defend myself. I've been training, after all." She added. And then, with a firm voice she said, "_You've_ been the one training me. Don't you think I'm ready?"

Eriol hesitated and wished he hadn't. Sumiko was a swift girl and took his hesitation as a good sign so she began her final attack.

"We have the Card Mistress and her guardian with us," she said convincingly. "Right now we're one of the most powerful groups in the world." Eriol sighed and gave in. He knew he'd get no peace unless he did.

"All right," he said. "You and your friends can go shopping. But!" He said, interrupting Sumiko's whoop of joy. "We're meeting back here in three hours. If you're even a _little_ late then you're grounded until you're married," he threatened.

"That sounds fair!" Sumiko said happily. She grabbed Arashi and Yu Mei's arms and began to lead them away, the boys and the guardians following behind them. Eriol sighed as he watched them go. He was never really interested in his second sight abilities but now he wished he knew what was going to happen today.

* * *

**-Tokyo-**

The girls travelled all around Tokyo, shopping their hearts out. Sumiko was especially jubilant, dragging everyone everywhere, particularly into clothing stores. Arashi was surprised to find her new friend to be so interested in clothing.

"My mother is a top clothing designer," Sumiko answered when Arashi questioned her. "I was raised on this stuff," she said grandly, spreading her arms towards the row of fashion stores. "And if you ever need my help with fashion..."

"Oi! I'm Arashi's fashion consultant," Alex said, appearing behind them suddenly, looking annoyed. Arashi gave Sumiko an apologetic look.

"I was just offering," Sumiko said meekly. "Don't take it personally."

Alex calmed down and gave her a sullen look. "As long as we're clear," she said. Sumiko nodded and smiled swiftly.

"Tell me about your fashion ideas, Alex," she said politely. Alex brightened up immediately and the two girls got into a deep conversation about fashion. Arashi never really had any interest in fashion, so she allowed her attention to wander...

Back to Xiang Kun, where it always seemed to end up these days. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was chatting with his cousin, Jiang Bai. She sighed happily. She considered herself to be really lucky. After all, if it hadn't been for Xiang Kun she would have been stuck at Hogwarts feeling sorry for herself. Thanks to him, she was out with new friends. He caught her eye and she smiled. He coloured and looked away. Arashi's smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion.

But he had been strange around her ever since the attack on the plane. She couldn't understand why... except... maybe he was upset about Anastatia. After all, they were friends before Arashi came. She winced and clutched her chest as a stab of guilt shot right through her heart. They had been close, hadn't they? Of course this was probably hard for Xiang Kun. After all, because of her he nearly killed Anastatia...

'_I'm sorry, Xiang Kun_._ I didn't realize how you must feel about all this,'_ she thought sadly.

Yu Mei caught her pained look and nudged her gently.

"You ok?" She asked curiously. Arashi shook herself out of her funk and nodded.

"Yep!" She said with false cheer. Yu Mei didn't look convinced, but before she could open her mouth to voice her concern, Arashi walked over to one of the small displays in the center of the mall.

It was a jewellery stand. Several pieces of jewellery shone and glittered like stars on small pillows. Arashi was taken aback by how pretty some of them were. One in particular caught her eye. It was a small silver cat pendant with sapphire eyes. She picked it up and ran her fingers over it gently, feeling the cool metal. It looked familiar somehow...

The Namirs! Of course. She had almost forgotten about them. Her lessons had stopped temporarily, and it had been a while since she had seen them...

Just then Sumiko arrived at her side. "Have you decided what you're giving Xiang Kun for Christmas?" She asked. Arashi jumped in surprise and replaced the cat pendant amongst the other jewellery.

"Er, no. I can't think of anything!" She said, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "What can you give to someone as rich and powerful as Xiang Kun that he doesn't already have?"

"Something only you can give him," Sumiko answered promptly. "Think Arashi-chan," she said, "what is the one thing you can give him that no other girl could?"

Arashi hesitated. "Well..." She began. "I guess there _is_ something..."

"Ye-ess," Sumiko urged her on.

Arashi blushed. "I'm not sure if that's what he wants," she said uncertainly.

"Of course he it is!" Sumiko exclaimed.

Arashi stared at her in silence, trying to make up her mind. "What if he thinks it's no good?" She asked quietly.

"He wouldn't be that cruel, Arashi-chan," Sumiko said. "Trust me."

Arashi remained silent and thoughtful. "All right," she said at last. "You've convinced me." Sumiko beamed. "But I'll need your help," Arashi added.

Sumiko nodded eagerly. "Ask away," she said.

Arashi took a deep breath. "What's his favourite desert?"

* * *

**-A few hours later-**

"Well, I'm done," Sumiko announced, resting her armload of bags and packages on the bench.

Jiang Bai nodded. "We have to go soon anyway," he said, pointing to his watch. Sumiko sighed.

"I don't know why father is so protective," she muttered. "I can take care of myself..."

"We should get going anyway," Jiang Bai said firmly.

"I agree!" Yu Mei piped up. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!"

"And the twins are getting tired," Xiang Kun said. True to his words, the twins were yawning and looking grumpy. Nadeshiko had been riding on her brother's back for the past half-hour and Ying Fa had been whining about her hunger for the past hour.

"I don't know why we had to bring them anyway," Yu Mei muttered.

"You used to tag along when you were their age," Jiang Bai pointed out. "At least they're well behaved- OUCH!" He shouted as Yu Mei kicked him. He clutched his shin in pain while Yu Mei looked satisfied.

"What about you, Arashi?" Yu Mei asked, turning from her abused brother.

"Mm?" Arashi said, sounding distracted. Like the others, her arms were full of parcels and bags of gifts for her friends and family, but she still had to get one more thing

... "Oh, I'm going to stay behind for a while, if that's alright," she said.

Jiang Bai hesitated. "I don't know," he said doubtfully. "We should probably stick together..."

Sumiko waved her hand impatiently. "Arashi is the Card Mistress and a sorceress. And she had no parents here to tell her when she has to come back. Besides, she has Alex to keep her out of trouble." Alex grinned at Sumiko's words. "Let her stay out for a bit."

Jiang Bai frowned. "Do you know your way around?" He asked.

Arashi nodded. "I used to live here, so don't worry."

Jiang Bai nodded reluctantly. "All right," he said. "But try to be back for dinner, ok?"

Arashi nodded again, more enthusiastically this time. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Xiang Kun frowned at her. "Why are you staying?" he asked. Arashi shifted uncomfortably.

"There's some things I have to pick up," she said quietly.

He nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?" He asked curiously.

Arashi shook her head. "No, no!" She said quickly. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." She said, blushing slightly.

Xiang Kun, looking a bit startled (and a bit hurt?), nodded. "Well, be careful. If you need any help at all..." He began.

"I know, I'll call you guys," Arashi said, holding up her blue cell phone.

With a reluctant glance backwards, Xiang Kun left with the others. Arashi watched them go, staring thoughtfully at Xiang Kun's retreating back.

Alex frowned at her mistress. "Why didn't you tell him the whole truth? That we're going to meet up with Hiroshi."

Arashi looked away. "I forgot," she lied. "Anyway, let's go and find a grocery store and then we'll meet with Hiroshi."

The late afternoon light was beginning to fade and despite the crowded streets, Arashi felt oddly alone.

* * *

**Raven: **whoo end of chapter. Damn that was hard to end.

**Alex:** Stuff happened! it was cool! it was also kind of dull!

**Fenris:** For once we agree.

**Raven: **Yeah I know. Next chapter will have some action I promise!

**Alex: **If you've read please review!

* * *


	17. Christmas Eve Confessions

**Alex: **whooo a new chapter FINALLY

**Raven:** it took me a while but here it is.

**Fenris:** Goody.

* * *

After some quick shopping, Arashi and Alex found their old hang out: a tea shop. The two girls walked to their usual booth and found a tall,  
skinny young man with bright fiery red hair and hazel eyes waiting for them. He stood up as they arrived.

"Hiroshi-kun!" Arashi exclaimed as she threw her arms around him. "It's been so long!"

"I've missed you, Arashi-chan," Hiroshi said, returning the hug. Alex pouted and tapped her foot impatiently. "I've missed you too, Aqua," he said, catching Alex's look. She smiled.

"No one calls me that except you," she said with a note of fondness in her voice. "How have you been?" She asked as they took their seats.

"Never better," he said. "It's been a lot quietier since you guys left."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Arashi said jokingly.

Hiroshi smiled at her oddly. "It can be," he said quietly. Arashi frowned. "Anyway," he went on hurriedly. "A lot of things have changed since you guys left. Do you remember Suzume-san?"

They sat happily as Hiroshi caught them up with the latest gossip and other things they've missed since they left. The warm, familiar atmosphere enveloped Arashi and made her forget her troubles for a little while.

"What have you guys been up to?" Hiroshi asked after finishing his stories.

"Oh, you know," Alex said airily, waving a stir stick in the air. "This and that. Attending Hogwarts, fighting off a new powerful enemy, meeting the son of the last Card Mistress. The usual."

Hiroshi nodded. "Arashi-chan told me about all that in her letters," he said. Alex looked mildly surprised.

"I didn't know you guys were staying in contact with each other," she said.

"Do you really think I wouldn't?" Arashi asked. "He's my good friend, after all."

"Yes, she's told me a great deal," Hiroshi went on. "Especially about that young man, Li."

Arashi predictably blushed and Alex grinned knowingly. "I don't talk about him that much, do I?" she asked shyly. Hiroshi shrugged.

"Yes. But you're in love, so I forgive you." He said. Arashi turned a brighter red and slunk down in her seat while Alex crowed with laughter. Hiroshi gave them a puzzled look.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked.

"No, I don't know why she's so shy about it," Alex said, scowling. "I keep telling her to be honest with the boy, but you know Arashi. She's terrified of being rejected."

Arashi said nothing to respond. Hiroshi saw the opportunity and quickly changed the subject to something lighter. Arashi sat in silence, contemplating what Alex had just said.

Was she really terrified of rejection? No one liked being rejected, it was true, but was Arashi more afraid than normal people? She fidgeted with her drink, feeling a little down.

* * *

Arashi and Alex waved goodbye to Hiroshi and began to walk back to the bus stop. The light had already faded and the street lamps flickered to life above them. The crowded streets were beginning to thin slightly. The two girls walked in silence until Arashi finally spoke.

"I'm not afraid of rejection," she said quietly. Alex raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "It's more complicated than that," she insisted. "There are a lot of things to consider."

"Like what?" Alex challenged.

Arashi faltered. "I don't want to ruin our friendship," she said promptly. Alex snorted.

"Please," she said. "You guys are so close, the worst that will happen is that you two will be awkward around each other for a few months. At the end, you'll be friends again."

Arashi frowned, her embarassment fading and being replaced with annoyance. "How do you know that?" She demanded.

"I'm very worldly," Alex said, waving her hand in the air. "I'm wiser than you think."

"It's not a good idea," Arashi said. "What about Anastatia? They were so close before and my feelings might complicate things."

"How?" Alex demanded.

Arashi looked down at the sidewalk when she spoke. "Anastatia was in love with Xiang Kun," she said softly. "I don't know how he feels about her, but I know he cares about her."

"I'm not buying that either," Alex said. "Anastatia's feelings are her business. Besides, she's gone crazy and joined the dark side. Remember? She tried to kill you? Xiang Kun may not be so fond of her right now."

"I don't know," Arashi said doubtfully. "He seemed very upset about the whole situation." Arashi felt a familiar pang of sadness at that thought. One side of her was glad to see that Xiang Kun was so compassionate, but at the same time a foolish, petty side of her was sulking over the whole situation.

"Again, I don't see what that has to do with you," Alex said. "Try again."

Arashi's shoulders slumped, defeated. "What if he doesn't feel the same?" She asked in a voice as quiet as the breeze. That thought froze all of her thoughts, all of her feelings. It made her feel small and helpless. What if he didn't feel the same? Could she really take that rejection? Could she survive the heartbreak? She didn't know...

Alex sighed and patted her mistress on the head. "What if he feels the same?" She asked. Arashi looked up suddenly and Alex saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "You'll never know unless you confess your feelings first. Don't wait around for him." She said.

Arashi nodded. What if he felt the same? A warmth spread through her like never before, chasing away the cold of the winter air and unfreezing her thoughts. Her heart fluttered and she was filled with a feeling of determination and peace. She looked up into the sky as it began to snow and smiled.

What if he felt the same? She had to know for sure.

* * *

**-Christmas Eve-**

It was late in the evening when Arashi got down to business. She had recieved special permission from Tomoyo to use the kitchen to prepare Xiang Kun's favourite dessert, deciding that Christmas Eve would be a better time to prepare it, as tomorrow Tomoyo and several other people would be using the kitchen to prepare the big feast.

She set out the ingredients she bought carefully and firmly, like a warrior setting out their armor for battle. She pulled out the various bowls, utensils and plates she would need. She put on her apron with a sense of ceremony and got to work.

The dish she was preparing with utmost care was a dish Arashi had never heard of. It was called the Chocolate Cappuchino Cake and it seemed complicated. But she had never turned away from a cooking challenge before and she wasn't about to start now. It was an important dish that had to be made right.

Several people had offered to help her, but she told them to keep Xiang Kun away from the kitchen for a few hours while she baked. She knew they had really wanted to help her bake, but she somehow felt that this cake should be made by her and her alone. It had to be special.

After she gave him his gift, she was going to confess her feelings. She took a deep, steadying breath to calm her nerves and got down to work.

* * *

Hours later, Arashi put the finishing touches on the cake. It didn't turn out as perfectly as she had hoped. The icing was a bit of a mess as she had done it in a hurry, but otherwise it seemed okay. She wished she could have a taste to ensure it wasn't disgusting, but she didn't want to ruin its appearance any more than she already had. She sighed and put the cake on the kitchen table.

Now she had to fetch Xiang Kun. It was already rather late at night, almost midnight, but most of the older kids were still awake. Sumiko had promised to keep Xiang Kun awake and away from any other desert, and Arashi hoped she had succeded. Oh well, no time to find out.

She found Xiang Kun in the living room, sitting on the floor with Sumiko, Jiang Bai and Yu Mei. As Arashi approached she saw that they were playing a card game of some sort.

"Got any threes?" Sumiko asked. Yu Mei yawned hugely and informed her that no, she did not have any threes.

"Go fish," she mumbled.

"You should go to bed if you're tired, Yu Mei," Jiang Bai said in an older-brother-knows-best voice. Yu Mei scowled.

"I'm not tired," she insisted. "I just need a little more caffiene in my system..."

"Arashi!" Sumiko exclaimed as her friend came up next to her. The others looked up in surprise at the petite girl who was hovering around them.

"Where have you been all night?" Xiang Kun asked, sounding a little concerned. They hadn't seen much of each other since Arashi visited Hiroshi.

This was harder than she thought. Even looking at Xiang Kun reminded her of what she was about to do and sent her heart beating faster than she thought possible. She swallowed her fears and forced herself to speak.

"I've been busy," she said in a voice much higher than normal. "Er. W-w-would you care to-to come with me for... a while?" She cursed herself for her unusual formal speech and her stutter. He looked at her, confused and, in her fragile emotional state, she began to panic a little. "Please?"

He nodded, stilllooking at her curiously, while everyone else smiled knowingly. Arashi did not consider herself to be a violent person,but at that moment she wanted to hit them all. She turned around, breathing deep to steady herself and began the walk to the dining room. She heard Xiang Kun's soft foot steps behind her. Even the sound of him behind her, caused her heart topound. It was pathetic.

And the walk to the dining room was taking far too long. Seconds stretched into years and the silence became stifling. She had to break it.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I haven'tbeen around lately," she said, praying she sounded casual.

"Yeah," Xiang Kun said. He paused. "I thought you were avoiding me." His voice was quiet and Arashi could faintly detect an odd note. Concern? Pain? Her heart was deafening.

"No," she said. "I... I wouldn't do that, Xiang Kun."

They arrived. Arashi had already set everything up. The cake was hidden underneath a metalic cover, several candles had been lit and two plates were set out. Adding to the atmosphere were the large windows that practically made up one of the walls. It faced the garden, which Arashi imagined looked beautiful in the spring, but now looked bare. Several ornamental statues rose from the grounds, polished marble that gleamed in the midnight moon. She watched his expression carefully as he took in the scene, but his face was blank. Her insides twisted.

"Have a seat," Arashi said, aware that her voice was trembling and pulled out a chair. He smiled for the first time.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I sat before you?" he asked.

She smiled briefly. "Humour me for tonight."

He did. Arashi moved to the cake and placed her hand on the handle.

"This is what I've been up to," she said and lifted the lid with what she hoped was a flourish. The cake's icing shone in the dim light. She smiled hopefully. Xiang Kun stared.

"How did you...?" he began.

"Sumiko-chan told me," Arashi supplied, her smile faltering. "Do you like it?"

His expression unfroze into a wide smile. "Of course I do," he said. "Thank you, Arashi."

She smiled while her heart sang. "Merry Christmas, Xiang Kun." She carefully cut him a slice and watched anxiously for his reaction. It seemed to take him ages to pick up his fork, cut off a small piece of cake, take the fork to his mouth, chew and swallow. Arashi tried to seem nonchalant and watched from the corner of her eyes while she cut herself a small slice.

After what seemed like a decade, he swallowed and nearly melted.

"Arashi, this ish sho good," he moaned, his words slurred by cake. Arashi tried to restrain the urge to give him a crushing bear hug and smiled as she sat down. Just as she was starting to relax and eat her cake, a thought occured to her.

_The night's not over yet. I still have one thing to do._

Arashi swallowed nervously and felt grateful that she cut herself a _small_ piece of cake. She felt like she was going to be sick.

_Maybe I don't have to admit my feelings to him tonight. Why ruin a nice evening?_

Xiang Kun looked up from his dessert with a look of concern on his face. "Are you all right, Arashi? You look ill."

_I feel ill._ "I'm okay!" she chirped in her too-high voice. "I'm just... tired." she finished lamely.

_I have to tell him,_ she thought. She watched him turn reluctantly back to his meal. _If I procrastinate on this, I'll never tell him. _

She took a deep breath and looked at Xiang Kun who had abandoned his manners and was now shovelling his food into his mouth. She stifled a giggle. _I'll wait until he finishes his cake_.

The momentary lapse of amusement vanished as her worry returned.

What if he doesn't feel the same? That had been the question that preyed on her mind all day. She tried to push it aside, to worry about other things, but she couldn't.

_What if I make a fool out of myself? What if he doesn't believe me? What if this ruins our friendship? What if the reason he was avoiding me was because he doesn't like me? What if he was only protecting me because he had to? What if he really does want to steal the Cards from me?  
_

_What if he doesn't feel the same?_

"Are you all right, Arashi?"

Arashi looked up as she was startled from her thoughts. Xiang Kun was frowning at her. She tried to smile reasurringly, but it ended up looking as if she was about to be sick (which wasn't far from the truth).

"I'm... I'm ok, Xiang Kun," she lied.

"You've barely touched your cake," he pointed out. "Are you not hungry?"

Arashi opened her mouth to reply but felt another wave of naseua over take her and closed it again. She looked down at her lap, where she had been twisting the napkin between her hands in her worry.

"Arashi, you're not ok. Please tell me what's wrong," he pleaded. The tone of his voice touched Arashi. She closed her eyes. She had to get this over with. She had to tell him. Now.

She looked up and into his hunter green eyes. "Xiang Kun... Listen, I... I have something to tell you. It's kind of important." She paused to take a deep breath. Xiang Kun waited politely. "These past few months have been really... special. Nice. Er. I mean, you've been very nice to me. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I'd have made it this far--"

"Ah, that reminds me!" Xiang Kun cut her off and stood suddenly, beaming. "I'll be right back," he said as he rushed from the room. Arashi sat in the same position, her mouth open, her posture stiff and eyes wide in disbelief. Had he just walked out on her? In the middle of her confession? He had...

She sagged. Maybe he knew what she was trying to do and cut her off on purpose. That was a terrifying thought. Doubt assailed her, stripping her of the meagre confidence she had been able to summon up.

_This is ridiculous, _she told herself. _I've faced worse than this! This should be a breeze!_ She wished she could believe that.

Xiang Kun returned a moment later and placed a wrapped parcel in Arashi's lap. She gave him a curious look.

"Your Christmas gift," he explained. "I thought since you were giving me yours tonight, I'd give you mine. Open it," he urged.

She did, still curious. It was a book. A rather heavy, old looking book. On the cover were the words "Defensyve Magicke" written in an elegant script. She opened it and flipped through the pages while Xiang Kun explained.

"It's a book on how to use your magic in a form of martial arts. The original book is in Chinese and belongs to my father's clan. This book is a translation, written a long time ago, hence the spelling. This book will help you protect yourself," he finished softly.

"Xiang Kun," she whispered. "Thank you so much." Without a second thought, she flung herself across the table and wrapped her arms around him. Xiang Kun blushed beet red.

"You're welcome," he managed. She pulled away, blushing lightly herself. Xiang Kun blinked. She was blushing too? He cleared his throat, and spoke. "You were going to tell me something...?

Arashi nodded, her happiness evaporating immediately. "Xiang Kun... you've been so... good to me these past few months and I--"

This time Arashi was silenced by a pricking on the back of her neck and a feeling that they were being spied on. She could feel several auras, just outside the heavy wooden door that seperated the dinning room from the rest of the house. She shot Xiang Kun a questioning look and he scowled back and held one hand up to his ear, miming the act of listening.

Arashi took the hint and listened.

"_What's going on?_"

"_They've gone quiet._"

"_Will you move? You're in my way!_"

"_Ow! You're in my way!_"

Xiang Kun growled and got to his feet with cat-like swiftness. Very silently and swiftly, he went to the door, placed one hand on the knob, paused dramatically and opened the door forcefully. Several people tumbled into the room, falling over each other and into a pile. Arashi stood up, her face bright red.

"Alex!" she cried.

Alex gave her mistress a look of angelic innocence. "We were just..."

"You were spying on us," Xiang Kun said, crossing his arms. "Why?"

The people pulled themselves apart and stood up. There was Sumiko, Alex, Nakuru, Yu Mei, the twins, and - to Arashi's surprise - Jiang Bai. The golden guardian gave her a sheepish look. Everyone else looked at Arashi. Alex raised her eyebrows, communicating a message Arashi understood. She gave them a silently pleading look, biting her lower lip nervously.

Alex gave a small nod, which you wouldn't have seen unless you were looking for it.

"We thought you were in danger from a Dark Card," Alex said with the same innocence.

"That's right," Sumiko chimed in.

"We were only worried about your safety," Nakuru said, hiding her hands behind her back and scuffing the ground with her shoe. Xiang Kun rolled his eyes.

"If there was a Dark Card, don't you think you'd sense it first?" he asked sarcastically. The group exchanged glances.

"No?" Yu Mei guessed.

Xiang Kun growled threateningly and the twins, already high strung, gasped. "Shouldn't you two be in bed?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. The twins gave him one look and ran for cover. They dived behind Arashi, each clutching one leg.

"Save us, Arashi-nee-chan!" Nadeshiko bawled.

"He's going to kill us!" Ying Fa shouted.

"He'll send us to our doom!"

"He'll eat our bones!"

"I'm sending you back to bed," Xiang Kun said, rolling his eyes at their theatrics.

"That's the same thing!" They cried at the same time. Arashi couldn't help it, she giggled.

"Take them back to their room," he said to the other intruders. "And stop spying on us," he added, glaring.

The twins were pried from Arashi and sent upstairs, while the rest of the group gave their feeble excuses as they were ushered out. Xiang Kun made sure the door was securely closed before turning back to Arashi.

"Now," he began. "Where were w-" But Arashi was already speaking. She was fed up with the interruptions and she knew the only way to get through this was to do it quickly, like tearing off a band-aid.

"Xiang Kun, I l-"

Her words were cut off by the air being knocked out of her. Everything changed instantly. She felt a horrible, black aura overtake her, spreading its poision inside of her. Her vision became blurred and her body weak. Everything felt wrong. The air felt thick and difficult to breathe, all sounds became muffled and difficult to hear over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. Her eyes were watering and her chest was aching. She fell to her knees and saw that Xiang Kun was suffering a similar fate. He grimaced at her and reached out with a trembling hand. Summoning all of the strength she had left, she reached out and grabbed his hand. She looked up and saw Xiang Kun mouth something at her.

'Don't let go.'

Her strength fading, she fell forward. The last thing she remembered was the sensation of Xiang Kun tightening his grip on her hand.

* * *

**Alex: **i can't believe that took you months to write.

**Raven: **shut up.

**Alex: **next time try to update sooner. Maybe before the end of time.

**Raven: **I'll try. Please review!


	18. Interlude: Anastatia

Xiang Kun was the first person to be nice to me. Well, nice to me without wanting something in return. My friends, my boyfriends, even my family to some degree, they all wanted something from me. I didn't mind, because I wanted something from them, too. That was how I was raised. I didn't think it was a bad thing, until I met Xiang Kun.

He was genuinely nice just for the sake of being nice. I didn't trust it at first, I was suspicious of him. I'd never dealt with that sort of thing before, but when I found out he was genuine I... took advantage of that. I'm not proud of it. I used him, like I used everyone else, like everyone else used me. I didn't think it was wrong at the time. He was handsome and popular and rich and powerful and I liked being with him. Especially when rumours started to circulate that he and I were an item.

Things started to change, slowly. I started to respect him and even like him. I started wanting to be nice to him for no reason and then I started... to love him.

I learned about him. The son of two powerful sorcerers, one of whom was the Card Mistress. I thought about how powerful I could become through him. I did truly love him and I loved what I could gain from being with him. I started to court him, trying to seduce him and it was going well.

Then she came along.

She ruined everything. She took everything from me, so now I'll repay the favour. I'll ruin her.

Ah, she's waking up...


End file.
